The Life of a Red Rose Thief
by QueenFayne
Summary: A thief stealing to reveal the secrets of a corrupt corporation, and a detective determined on stopping the thief, along with the entire police force and probably more, how could the thief succeed? Such is the life of a Red Rose Thief. A WhiteRose Fanfic. (Ruby X Weiss)(AU)
1. Chapter 1

**This is Queen Fayne and this is my very first story. Please review and comments are appreciated. Hope you guys enjoy.  
**

* * *

The City of Beacon. A popular city in Vale where opportunities are abundant. Prestigious schools, top of the line hospitals with the best doctors and nurses, and a plethora of shops, museums, and companies. The Beacon Police Department known for keeping peace and order throughout the city, making it also known as the most secure and safest place in all of Vale. Schnee Dust Corporation, the world's most powerful Dust Company's main offices is located in Beacon, with Jacques Schnee as its CEO. The Schnees own most of the museums, hospitals and even the police because of their powerful ties. In addition, they are facing a huge threat to their secrets and wealth.

* * *

Beacon Museum of History earlier held its grand opening, with pictures and paintings made by artists in Beacon depicting how their beloved city became what it is today. Books and documents also support the history behind it. Moreover, tonight, said museum surrounded by the BPD.

"Damn it, this is the 3rd time this week!" a begrudged detective yelled while stepping outside their police car. The entrance surrounded by rows of guns pointed towards the door.

"Whoa, chill out there detective! She's just getting on your nerves." said the sergeant, offering the detective a cup of coffee, which the detective rejected.

"I can't drink coffee right now. I want results first." replied the detective. "Is the team already here?"

"Yep, we're all just waiting for you. Let's go, Nora is getting a little bit antsy."

"Red Rose Thief, you are not escaping tonight. All of you, stand guard and secure all entrances!" the detective ordered the other officers as they entered the museum.

* * *

Inside the museum, a lone figure is standing in front of the curator's office. The Red Rose Thief wore a cavalier hat, with black and red feather plume and held in place by a red rose pin, covering her black hair with red streaks. Her black corset vest and white blouse covered by a red ankle-length tailcoat, with black lace trimmings. She also wore black shorts, knee-high black stockings, and low heel black boots, walking with confident strides as she walks to the office door. The door reads "Dr. Oobleck" as she opened the door and entered, her masquerade mask resembling a rose, with the eyeholes covered by silver double-sided lenses.

The Red Rose Thief was surprised when she entered the office, as it was full of empty coffee cups and sachets of instant coffee. Papers and folders strewn across the desk. Books on the shelves now lie on the carpeted floor. The pitcher plant next to the corner of the room toppled over.

'_Hey Red. How's your evening?_' said an unenthusiastic voice on a mini headset on the right ear of Red.

"Not good. They got to the doctor's office first. And they took the file." replied Red, searching for any sign of clue as to what happened.

'_Hmm... Well, the Queen requests us to retreat for now. She also said that the files we need might be found in __**His**__ palace._'

Red shrugged and walked out of the room, when she heard the sounds of running and a lot shouting.

"Hey Midnight, the detective is here with her squad." Red casually said to her support.

'_So... I'm guessing you're giving another 'performance'?_' Midnight asked as if they were not expecting it.

"What do you think?" Red snapped. "Sigh, sorry, just still a little upset about our mission. Oh well, time to let off some steam." Red gave a smirked as she walked to the middle of the hallway, and stood with one foot in front of her, right hand on the tip of her cavalier hat, tipping it a bit so that'll cover her eyes just a little bit. She pulled off her silver rapier that was hidden behind her coat, and held it steadily with her left hand.

'_Knock em dead, Red._' Midnight cheered with a slight hint of amusement.

"They won't expect a thing." Red replied with a smirk on her lips.

* * *

The detective and her team reached the hallway where the Red Rose Thief is and was surprised to see her standing there, as if waiting for them to arrive.

"Red Rose Thief! You are under arrest! You'll pay for your crimes." The detective said as she pointed a customized desert eagle. The barrel has a silver rose engraving with its petals wilting. The grip of the gun has black and red metal linings. The other officers pointed their weapons at the thief.

"Good evening officers and my dear detective, fancy seeing you at this time of day." The thief greeted back with a taunting curtsy, which agitated the detective even further.

"Oh shut it! You're coming with us. Yang, get her!" the detective ordered Yang, the sergeant, as Yang approaches the thief, Midnight's voice came through Red's earpiece.

'_Red, run as soon as the alarms go off!_' Midnight said to Red. As soon as Yang was near Red, the museum alarms rang out, Red lowered herself and sweeped Yang's leg while they were distracted by the alarms, grabbed a small smoke grenade from her bag, and dropped it and took off further into the hallway. The detective noticed what Red had done and helped Yang up.

"Jaune, Nora, go back downstairs and get everyone to cover all the exits and climb up the fire exits! Cut her off! Ren, Pyrrha and Yang, you're all with me!" ordered the detective and chased the red clothed pilferer.

Red ran and ran, trying to think of a way to escape her pursuers. As she turned to the end of the hallway, she bolted to the fire exit door and ran upstairs. The police still hot on her heels, she ran to the highest floor and trapped the door with smoke bombs. As soon as the police caught up to her, the bombs that triggered when they opened the door, incapacitating Pyrrha, Ren and Yang with its powerful gas.

"***cough* *cough* **What the hell is in these bombs..." Yang exclaimed while falling on to her knees from being exposed to the smoke.

"They're laced with some sort of drug... I need some rest..." Ren said as he crawled towards the wall and leaned on it. Pyrrha soon fell on her knees as well, tried to help Yang up, and noticed that the detective is still chasing after the elusive thief. Pyrrha tried to call out to her but she felt too tired to call her. The detective seemed unaffected by the drug-laced smoke and kept on the thief's trail as the reach the rooftop.

Red opened the door and ran to the edge of the building and look for any ways of escape. She looked down and saw that it was a 50-foot drop to the ground. As she turned around, the detective burst out of the door, she just came in and pointed her gun at the thief.

"I told you, you're coming with us, thief! You've got nowhere to run." the tireless detective said, still pointed her gun to Red.

"I'm surprised you're not affected by the smoke." Red said honestly, raising her arms to surrender.

"I've suspected you might do something like that so i brought a mask. Now turn around slowly and bring your arms behind your back." Red did as she was told but as soon as her hands are near her back, she step onto the ledge, did a somersault, flipping over behind the detective, and did another sweep and the detective's legs gave way. Just as the detective was about to hit the ground, she rolled forwards and sprinted towards the thief, extending her right leg for a roundhouse kick towards Red's face. Red ducks down and blocks the oncoming left hook. Red grabbed the detective's left wrist, pulled her close and kissed the detective on the lips. Both were surprised with what they did. The detective was so surprised that her face gone through million shades of red, rivaling the thief's clothing. While they were kissing, Red slip a diamond necklace, she stole from a few nights before into the detective's pocket. She pulled away from the kiss, leaving the poor detective breathless.

"Wh-wha-wha-what! Did you just kissed me?!" the detective was flustered, looking like a red headless chicken squawking nonsense. The thief took opportunity of this distraction, ran to the other end of the building, and jumped off.

"Thanks for the good night kiss, detective!" Red shouted back as she fired a grappling hook from her holster and swings from the building across the museum and landed in a balcony. She tipped her hat and another curtsy and took off again, escaping into the night.

The detective was so surprised that she forgot to exhale a breath she held as the rest of her team followed her into the rooftop.

"Ruby! Where did she go? Are you okay? Your face looked so red!" Yang shaked her sister out of control, concerned for the young detective.

"Ya-Yang, I-I'm fi-fine!" Ruby stopped her elder sister from shaking her. "She got away... Again. But she did return the necklace she stole from Weiss." she said as she noticed and took out the necklace from her pocket.

"Ruby, are you sure you're okay?" Pyrrha approached Ruby, placing a hand on the young detective's shoulder.

"Yeah Pyrrha... Just planning on what she'll do next..." Ruby assured as she gazed to the balcony that she last saw the red thief. "I'm going to give Weiss a call about her necklace." she said as she stepped away from her officers who left her to do what she want.

* * *

Ruby took out her phone, clicked on Weiss' profile and pressed call. A voice soon spoke through the phone.

'_Hello Ruby._' the voice of Weiss said, making Ruby smile.

"Heya Weiss. Uh, I got your necklace back."

'_Oh, thank you Ruby. I was wondering if you could return it to me personally. Would it be fine with you?_' Weiss cooed.

"Of course Weiss, I'll see ya later. And I... Uhm, I love you." Ruby shyly said.

'***giggle***_ Dolt. I love you too. See you later._' replied Weiss and dropped the call. Ruby and the rest of her team went down the museum, ready to call the whole operation off as Red carefully eyeing them from the building she escaped from. She slipped back her phone into her front pocket and gone down to the alleyway where Midnight is waiting for her.

"Did you just seriously kissed her?" asked 'Midnight' with a barely noticeable smirk. She was wearing a purple hoodie that fades to black towards the end of the hoodie. The back of her hoodie are decorated with belladonna flowers that are colored white. Her ebony black hair is messy, topped with a black ribbon, covering her faunus heritage. Her black ripped denim pants fit her athletic figure nicely, and her black combat shoes complete her look. Her amber eyes seemingly glow slightly in the dark. Red, embarrassed that she forgot that Midnight was watching her explained herself.

"I-I didn't know what else to do. I can't think of anything to distract her."

"So you decided kissing her was gonna do it?" She chuckled, infuriating Red.

"Oh hush you!" Red snapped at her accomplice. She took off her hat and her black and red wig, revealing her real hair, a beautiful shade of alabaster white that reaches to her back. She took out a small tiara, fixing her hair into a ponytail, offset to her left, and placed the tiara too hold her side ponytail in place. She removed her mask to reveal a pair of ice blue eyes. Her gaze is seemingly entrancing to anyone who looks at her. Her scar running down her right eye just adds to her beauty. "Blake, we need to get back to my mansion before Ruby notices I'm gone. Or else, she'll suspect me." 'Red' said to Blake, as she starts to take off her coat and folding it neatly and letting it hang on her arm.

"C'mon then Weiss, let's go. I'll drive." Blake said, as she opened the door of Schnee family car, and guided Weiss to her seat. After Weiss sat down, Blake closed the door, opened the door to the driver's seat, and drove her employer to her mansion.

'_**Why did I ever agree to this sort of life?**_' Weiss thought to herself as they drove into the night, letting her tired aching legs get the best of her.


	2. Chapter 2

_**3 months ago…**_

Weiss Schnee is the heiress to the Schnee Dust Corporation, a company dedicated on making the lives of people much easier with their invention called Dust. By turning the elements into a form of powder, designed to be carried much easier than using the raw materials. By using Fire dust, a few sprinkles of it to any flammable object will set it ablaze, making it perfect for camping, survival kits and many more. Ice Dust does not thaw; therefore, they can be stored without the need of a freezer and still be able to create ice. Earth Dust helps reduce the need to mine for stone by producing pillars of rocks with minerals. Life was easier with Dust and Beacon is the main location to find the company that produces it.

Woken up from her slumber by her alarm clock, she got up, fixed her bed and did her morning stretches. Her large room adorned with monochromatic furniture, a crystal chandelier hanging in the center of the ceiling. Her desk next to the balcony door are decorated with multiple books, ranging from mathematics, accounting, language textbooks and dozen notebooks, along with a small drawer of different pens and pencils. The warm white rug covering the floor gives Weiss a ticklish sensation, which she liked. She opened her white wardrobe and pulled out her bathrobes, and entered her bathroom next to the wardrobe to shower. After a long and relaxing shower, she put on her bathrobes, took her hairdryer and stood in front of the mirror, checking for any sign of blemishes. Once satisfied, she picked up a brush and with the hairdryer, she carefully brushed her hair while drying it at the same time. When she was done, Weiss got out of her bathroom, opened the wardrobe once again and prepared her outfit, a white double-breasted jacket with blue cuffs, and a pair of designer jeans along with a white blouse. Finally done dressing up, she placed a small tiara and placed it on her hair to prevent her side ponytail from being undone. After another thorough check up on the mirror, she opened the door and stepped outside her room.

* * *

The Schnee Mansion she lives in is one of many properties the Schnee Family own. Weiss received this mansion because it was nearby her school, where she chose to study to be a detective. Weiss had always admired her elder sister, Winter, whom was a detective for the Beacon Police Department before she moved to Atlas City. Their father, Jacques Schnee did not liked what his beloved heiress to be like her sister, so he assigned a personal bodyguard to always keep an eye on Weiss and report to him what the young heiress is doing or plan to do. When Weiss first heard of this, she was infuriated at her father, trying to keep her from living out her life and being a puppet for his own desires. So each day, she tries to do something rebellious; sneaking out at night, meeting up with friends her father told her to stay away from, and to the simplest things such as doing her ponytail skewed.

Weiss headed down to the dining room to see if her maids prepared her any breakfast, which they did. Content with what she saw, she moved over to the table, pushed a small remote and a rather large flat screen television came down from the ceiling, allowing her to watch the news while she ate. As soon as the screen went on, it immediately showed a news report about rumors that her father's company is abusing the Faunus workforce, by not providing benefits that employees should have, overworking them with the minimal salary, and even worse, is that there are rumors of enslaving Faunus children to work in the mines.

'_**This is sickening.**_' Weiss thought as she flipped through another channel. Her opinion on the Faunus is what drove her to be a detective. Thinking she could look through what is happening behind the scenes, thinking that her father's subordinates are the ones that are abusing the Faunus, not her father. Despite not liking her father very well, she still loves him as her father therefore; she cannot imagine him being very evil. She stopped on one channel that was reporting about a break-in.

'**BREAKING NEWS! A mysterious thief broke in a Schnee owned bank!**' This caught Weiss' attention. She raised the volume of the television. '**The surprising twist of this break-in, according to the police, is that the thief did not steal a single amount of Lien, but rather left a calling card in the form of a rose with a letter attached: "Bring your best detectives, because I'll be back for my score! Signed, The Red Rose Thief." The criminal is said to be dangerous that even common criminals fear the masked thief. ..**' Weiss tuned out from listening a little while later. The name however, sounded familiar to Weiss but she cannot remember why.

Her thoughts came to a halt when a woman with black hair and wore a black suit entered to the dining room. Her black ribbon made her look like a cat, and her amber eyes did not help. The woman approached Weiss and bowed lowly, making Weiss wonder who she was.

"Good morning Ms. Schnee. Your father, Mr. Jacques Schnee, has appointed me to be your personal chaperone." The woman in black looked up from her bow before standing up straight again. "My name is Blake Belladonna, pleasure to be of service to you, Ms. Schnee." Blake extended her hand to shake Weiss' hand.

Weiss gently took the hand and shook it. '_**Father must have sent her to spy on me again.**_' Weiss thought, thinking of any reason why. Probably because she caused another headache to her father the other night. Her father was pushing her to look for a partner by setting her up on dates with the sons of the board members and other company owners, which she all turned down.

Unexpectedly, Blake pulled Weiss closer to whisper into her ear.

'Ms. Schnee, you can trust me, I may have been ordered by your father to watch over you, but I won't report you.'

Weiss quickly pushed her away. "I'll believe that when I see it. And just as you know, you also work for me, so I can fire you just as quickly." She threatened.

"I understand. I'm sorry for scaring you Ms. Schnee." Blake said, seemingly feeling guilty for scaring the heiress. Weiss let out a small groan in annoyance.

"First of all, just call me Weiss. You may start with that to earn my trust." Blake smiled when Weiss finished.

"I understand, Weiss."

"Now that's better. Now, I suppose you're also here to take me to the academy?"

"That is correct. Are you ready to leave?"

"Yes actually. Go get my bag over there and place it in the car. I'll be back." Weiss said as she entered into another room, picking up a small periwinkle blue notebook and placed it in her pocket. She then left to the front door, not even bothering to lock it because the maids will probably do it for her anyways. She approached the Schnee Family car in the garage outside, which is actually a limousine. Blake was waiting for her with the car door open. As soon as she slipped in, Blake closed the door gently, rushed to the driver's seat, and drove out of the mansion gates and onto the road.

* * *

Once they were in the main city, Weiss was staring out at the window, looking for anything remotely interesting. Blake seemed to notice and tried to turn the radio on to let some music fill the silence. She did not notice that the volume was set to the maximum volume. As soon as the radio turned on and the music played, it was so loud that Weiss had to cover her ears. Then she noticed something. She thought her eyes were playing tricks on her, but the ribbon on top of Blake moved. She thought she saw them press flat against Blake's head, until Blake fixed the volume.

Before Weiss could ask about what she saw, she did not realize that they already arrived in the academy. Blake got out of her seat, opened the door for her employer. Weiss stood up and walked towards the academy, leaving Blake to her own devices.

Weiss entered the academy, greeted by the cold chill air of the air conditioning unit. The tiles of the hallway squeaky clean, made sure by the academy's staff. The walls made of mahogany wood. It was a comfortable looking place, even if it's an academy for criminology. And there was one more thing that made Weiss feel comfortable in here.

"Weiss! You're here!" a voice called out, snapping Weiss out of her thinking.

"Good morning Ruby." Weiss greeted back with a warm smile. Ruby Rose, a classmate of hers in becoming a detective in the making. Her red streaked hair despite looking like a bad case of bed head. Her silver, hopeful eyes that cheer her up even in the bleakest moments. Her baggy overused crimson red hoodie and skinny jeans, seems to make her look more adorable to Weiss. Not that she would admit it. Ever since she met Ruby and their friends, she changed. She no longer acted like a brat. She was kinder and more considerate of how other people feel but only to those she deemed as her friend. It was a work in progress, but just like what Ruby told her '_One little baby step at a time._'

And as days went by, being with Ruby made her feel something she never thought she had. She felt smitten by the young prodigy. Was it her eyes? Her smile? Her cheery demeanor? She cannot think of an answer, but she just wants to be close to her. What she didn't know that Ruby felt the same way.

The two young women went to their class together. Many other students were rushing to get good seats, but they took their time, knowing that they'd end up seating next to each other. As they sat down, talking about what they did in the weekends, the door opened and entered their instructor and started their lessons. A moment later, Ruby tapped Weiss on the shoulder.

"Hey Weiss, my sister wants me to invite you to come to her birthday celebration tonight. Do you want to go?" Ruby asked, letting the heiress think for a second before giving an answer. But before she could, Ruby went on, rambling. "I mean it's fine if you can't because you know, you're busy and all, with the studying. But I was hoping you would go –" before Ruby could continue on, Weiss, placed a finger on her lip, and she gave Ruby a smile.

"I am thankful, and yes, I would go. But where are we celebrating anyway?" Weiss asked

"Awesome! Oh, just near the bank just at the corner of the street. There's a small diner there that serves good food." Ruby replied. '_**That's the place where the Red Rose Thief will strike again.**_' Weiss thought.

"Oy, you two! Pay attention or it's detention to the both of you!" their instructor finally noticed the two of them talking. The girls said their apologies and paid attention back to class.

* * *

After 6 hours of school, It was now 6:30 pm. Classes are now flooding out with students wanting to get home and rest. The two girls went down the stairs before Weiss stopped Ruby for a moment.

"Ruby, you go on ahead, I'm going to tell my uhm… assistant that I will be going home on my own."

"Okay Weiss, be careful and see ya there!" Ruby waved goodbye and walked on ahead to the diner they're supposed to go.

Weiss walked to the school parking area, noticing that only a few cars were left in the parking lot, including her limousine. Blake noticed her approaching from inside the car and opened the door to step out before Weiss stopped her.

"Blake, you head on home, I will be going out somewhere with my friends. I will return home on my own accord." She commanded her chaperone with doubts that she will report to her father, but don't have it in her heart to let the woman wait for her for who knows how many hours.

"Understood Ms… Uhm Weiss. Have a pleasant evening and good night." Blake nodded from the car, closed the door, started the engines and left the parking lot. '_**Please Oum, don't let my father find out.**_' she prayed out before heading out to the diner.

When she entered the diner, she already spotted her group of friends. Yang Xiao Long, the half-sister of Ruby, Jaune Arc, a blonde haired man who's talking with a red headed amazoness, Pyrrha Nikos, A silent Asian man with black hair and a streak of pink on one of his bangs named Lie Ren, trying to keep his childhood best friend from eating all the cakes, Nora Valkyrie. They were all police officers, except for her and Ruby, as both of them haven't graduated yet.

"Oh heya Ice Queen! Thank you for coming to my birthday bash!" Yang greeted to Weiss, catching everyone's attention. The others greeted her with cheers!

"Hey Weiss."

"Hello again~!"

"Evening, Weiss."

"NORA!"

"Good evening everyone and thank you for inviting me." Weiss thanked them by doing a small curtsy and sat beside Ruby. "And I told you Yang, stop calling me that!" Weiss called back to Yang's teasing which everyone laughed at. Even Weiss.

After the rest of the food arrived, Weiss couldn't help but think about what her life is now. She's happy. She has her friends. She has the best best friend one could ever ask for in Ruby. Then Ruby looked at her and gave her that smile again.

"Hey Weiss, thank you again for coming." Ruby said.

"You're welcome Ruby." Weiss replied. _**'Anything for you.**_' She thought to herself, blushing at the idea of it. However, she forgot that she was with her friends. Friends that seem to have an eye for mischief.

"Awwww look at those two love birds!" Nora exclaimed, pointing at the now two blushing girls.

"I knew my sister would be able to one day thaw the ice queen's heart." Yang smirked while batting her eyelashes.

"Yaaaaaaannnngggg!" Ruby whined. She ended up looking like a child being told that she can't have cookies for dinner. Her height didn't help at all. Before Weiss could add to the fuel of the teasing, Pyrrha stepped in and stopped the teasing from escalating.

"Okay guys, that's enough. It's time to blow the cake." That seemed to distract the others. Weiss mouthed a thank you and Pyrrha smiled.

"Alright Yang, make a wish!" cheered Ruby as Yang paused for a moment before blowing the candles of her cake. Everyone cheered and clapped.

"So what did you wish for?" Nora asked. Yang gave a thoughtful look before looking at the two younger people with them.

"I wished that these two will graduate with flying colors." Yang announced, with a thumbs up directed to both Ruby and Weiss.

"Aww thanks sis!" Ruby hugged Yang.

"Now let's get eating, I'm starving." said Jaune as he took a spare plate and took what food that was nearest to him. Everyone did the same thing and enjoyed their dinner.

* * *

After eating an unhealthy amount of fast food dinner, the rest of the gang went their separate ways. They thank for the meal, congratulated Yang again for her 25th birthday and went home, except for Yang, Ruby and Weiss. Yang rode on her motorcycle, pulled in her sister for a hug, and whispered something to Ruby. Weiss wondered what Yang told Ruby, she could only guess as to why Ruby blushed like a tomato and said something along the lines of "No, I'm not gonna sleep in her home!" and Yang's response of "Remember to wear protection!" and a sly grin. She then sped off before Ruby could make another comeback.

"Uhm, sorry about my sister. You know how she is." Ruby said.

"It's okay. I'm used to her brutish ways. And I didn't take any offense to what she said." Weiss assured. '_**Especially with the fact that all she said was true.**_' Weiss answered in her thoughts. They were walking when Ruby suddenly stopped, completely shocked.

"Oh darn! I left my bag in the diner. Can ya wait for me Weiss, I'll be back in a jiffy!" Ruby said as she took off.

"Be careful!" Weiss called out, but Ruby was already out of earshot. Weiss sighed at her companion's childish behavior but to her, it adds to the cuteness she sees in Ruby. She looked at her watch and noticed that it was already 10 pm, and how the street she is in was desolate, except for a single limousine parked nearby. She noticed that it was her limousine and wondered why it was there.

'_**Why is Blake here? She couldn't possibly be spying on us?**_' She thought angrily, thinking that her father had indeed sent her just to keep her from "Being around incompetent gold diggers." She stomped to the car and knocked on the driver's seat window, but she didn't get any response. She decided to peer into the window and saw that Blake wasn't inside the car. She did notice that a paper bag was in the passenger seat. She fished out her own set of keys to the limo, opened the car and looked inside the bag. She saw a cavalier hat with black and red feathers, a black corset vest, a rather expensive looking red tailcoat that reached to her ankles and was decorated with black lace trimmings, a pair of rather fashionable modest black shorts and a pair of black leather gloves that were thin. And when she lifted the clothing, she found a pair of black knee high stockings and a pair of black low-heeled boots. Beneath them was a letter with the Schnee Family symbol, a white snowflake. She opened the letter and found out it was from Winter, with her signature clean and elegant writing style she recognized after seeing it countless times during her lessons from Winter herself. She read the letter.

"Dearest Weiss,

How have you been? It has been ages since the last time we wrote to each other. I apologize, my work schedule had been hectic, that is why I have not been able to reply as soon as I could. I would be glad to hear more from you my dear sister.

Love,

Winter.

PS: I have also sent you a few garments from Atlas. I think you would love these and will look stunning on you. And father will be livid when he sees the outfit because of the color. He hates the color red."

Weiss giggled from the contents of the letter. Despite having trouble and having a busy schedule, she still found time to sent her a letter and send her gifts. And she did love the outfit. Deciding that she couldn't wait any longer, she went to the nearby restroom and changed there. Once she saw how she looked, she thought '_**Winter is correct, I do look stunning in these. And that father will be furious when he sees me wearing this.**_' She could see it in her mind how red her father will be, after all, Jacques thinks to himself as a perfect and pure human being, so white and blue suites him. The color of the clothes Winter sent was the total opposite, being black and red. And she did noticed that this was similar to Ruby's own choice of color. Satisfied with how she looked, she walked back to the car to keep her jacket and jeans when she heard an alarm ring out from the street. She ran to the scene, thinking about Ruby and if she was safe.

* * *

What she found was the bank, all the windows broken and the door wide open, as if someone used explosions to get in. She reached out for her phone and called the police, who would be arriving in a few minutes and told her to wait there. After pocketing her phone, she looked for Ruby, after noticing that the diner was close and no one was inside. She suspected that Ruby must have been inside. Then she heard a cough. Someone was inside. '_**Ruby!**_' she thought. She ran inside the bank, with no care for her safety. She noticed a woman with a purple hoodie who had red and black streaks of hair was lying down near the window. She ran to the side of the woman, and woke her up, only ended up being surprised that it was Blake. The wig she was wearing dropped onto the floor, revealing her black hair, and a pair of cat ears.

"Blake?! You're a Faunus?! Are you okay?! What are you doing here?!" She bombarded the weakened cat Faunus with her questions.

"Weiss, listen to me, your friend Ruby is inside, she did not notice me lying down here, but there are two very bad people there and I'm worried what will happen to her!" As soon as Blake explained to her, Weiss' almost went into panic, caring about the safety of Ruby, because of the redhead's heroic courage and stubbornness, that it always lead her to trouble. Weiss thought of how to save Ruby and then she remembered about the news earlier. '_**The Red Rose Thief. Even common criminals fear the thief.**_' She noticed her outfit was in the shade of red and black, almost making her look like the real Red Rose Thief. That's when she decided to disguise herself as the thief. What the criminals do not know won't hurt them.

"Blake, I need you to go and get help, I've already called for the police, wait right outside, okay? I'll go save Ruby." She said as Blake nodded. Weiss picked up the black wig with red streaks, similar to Ruby's hair and tucked her white hair inside to cover it all especially with the hat. Now she looked like a different person, except for her uncovered face. Blake stood up and was about to leave before she handed Weiss a mask.

"Here, use this so no one would recognize you." Blake said before running outside. Weiss noticed the intricate detailed masquerade mask. It was shaped like a rose with silver lenses to cover the eyes. '_**Why did Blake have this kind of mask?**_' she asked herself, before deciding that it was not the time to think about it now, for she had to save someone she cared about dearly, as she wore the mask, making her completely unrecognizable. She then proceeded to head deeper into the bank. She noticed the vault door open and stepped in, noticing that the room is larger than it seems. She found Ruby lying on the ground unconscious, and up further ahead were two men who was wearing a black suit and carried two machetes. The two men were stuffing their bags with a lot Lien. '_**I can't help Ruby if they are still there.**_' She thought. She then noticed a bar of steel, as thin as a rapier that was jutting out on the side. '_**Good thing I was taught how to fence**_.' She stealthily crept towards the pole, reaching out to grab it. After she got hold of it, she pulled it out as quietly as possible, but as soon as she did, a small amount of rubble that held the bar of steel in place crumbled, echoing loudly and grabbing the attention of the two goons who immediately turned around.

"Who the hell are you?" Asked one of the goons, raising their machetes to strike. '_**Think Weiss, think!**_' She quickly assumed a basic fencing stance before answering the question.

"I am the one they call the Red Rose Thief. And I suggest you surrender to me, or you'll regret it." She announced proudly, standing in front of Ruby's body to shield her from harm. However, the threat only just made the two goons laugh, slightly making her annoyed.

"Hahaha, you've gotta be kiddin me. You're the so called Red Rose Thief? You're such a small fry! No run along before we hurt you real bad, small fry!" The other goon replied, approaching Weiss.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." Weiss said before raising her arm and placing it above her chest, and shot out forward, going for a thrust towards the goon. The goon was surprised with Weiss' speed and took the hit. He raised his arm to attack back, but Weiss quickly parried the attack, making the goon loose his hold on his weapon. Weiss took advantage of this, and swung the steel bar to the side of the head of the man, knocking him to the side. The other goon then rushed forwards, trying to use brute force to fight Weiss. However, Weiss flipped backwards, dodging the charge and then ran towards the back of the man, and jumped and kick off from his back knocking the man down to the ground. Weiss carried her maneuver in the air, landing gracefully on the ground, and assumed a defensive stance, ready for anything. The man pushed himself from the ground, standing up, and charged again, this time swung his machete towards Weiss' side hard. Weiss quickly ducked down, dodging the blade completely before rising up to roundhouse kick the head, delivered two swings of her own weapon to the right knee and the man's side, and knocked him back down to the ground, making him unconscious just like the other goon.

* * *

After the fight, once Weiss was sure the two men will not be standing up, looked for a way to held them in place, dropped her weapon and looked for some rope. She found a roll of duct tape from an office table and tied the two goons' limbs securing them for the police. After that, she dusted herself off, cleaning her clothes before hearing a sound of a gun cocking.

"You! Turn around slowly with your arms raised!" The female voice said. She recognized the voice very well.

'_**Oh no… Ruby.**_' She said to herself as she did what Ruby ordered her to do. Once she turned around, she saw Ruby, with a gun raised to her face, with her finger on the trigger, threatening to pull it. Her eyes that she was used of seeing full of joy, are now full of rage. For the first time ever, Weiss was scared of Ruby, she never saw Ruby like this.

"Look, I-" Weiss tried to explain before Ruby shot towards the ground, just at the left of Weiss, scaring Weiss to silence.

"Shut it, you lowlife! I've waited for so long to meet you, **Red Rose Thief**!" Ruby yelled out. '_**What is wrong with Ruby?!**_' She desperately thought of a reason.

"You're under arrest. Now I suggest you to not do anything before I… Before I hurt you!" It was clear that whatever happened to Ruby, she was serious about it. But before Ruby could say another word, a small ball was thrown into the room, nearby Ruby's feet. The ball exploded, releasing a cloud of smoke, distracting Ruby. A voice yelled out from outside the vault that snapped Weiss's train of thought, just enough for Weiss to act.

"RUN!" the voice said, as Weiss took of quickly towards the exit, ran outside, and finding that it was Blake who threw the smoke grenade. They ran out of the bank, and Weiss followed Blake who ran to the street and into the car. After locking themselves in the car, Blake started the engine and took off, taking Weiss around the corner to hide from the incoming police.

Weiss started to panic, scared out of her wit from what happened to her. She did not imagine herself to be threatened by Ruby, who she known to almost never hurt a fly and who was full of kindness. Blake calmed Weiss down before she started crying.

"Weiss! Weiss. Listen to me. Breathe, okay? Just breathe." Blake told her, which she did after a few minutes. She clung to Blake, who let her hugged her, as she soothed her with her voice, telling her over and over again that she's fine. After calming herself down, she straightened herself.

"Blake… Tell me, what were you doing in the bank? Weiss asked. Blake sighed, looking down for a bit, before looking up to Weiss and answered her question with a straight look.

"Weiss Schnee, I am the **Red Rose Thief**."


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone, It's me again, Queen Fayne. I've now just decided my schedule of upload. I'll be trying to upload and update stories on Saturdays (Philippine Standard Time). Anyways, please review and most especially, enjoy.**

* * *

"Weiss Schnee, I am the **Red Rose Thief**."

Weiss was flabbergasted. She'd never expected Blake to be a thief. '_**Is it because she's a faunus? No! That's stereotyping.**_' is what is going through her head right now. Before she could come up with an answer to her own question, Blake already knew what ran in her mind.

"No, I don't steal to get myself ahead in life. I never once stole any lien from anyone. I promise I'll explain more later, if you'd let me. Right now, Ruby will probably be looking for you, and we can't let her suspect you." Blake said. Weiss then immediately remembered what happened earlier and how it scared her. Blake could notice the fear in Weiss' eyes.

"Weiss, please… We can't be caught. You'll have to trust me."

"Trust you?! You're a thief!" Weiss shouted, making Blake wince. What Weiss said was true. Who would trust a thief?

'_**But she did save my life… And if it weren't for her, I'd probably be in jail… Or worse…**_'

Weiss calmed herself down, by breathing. She closed her eyes and then looked at Blake once again. Blake's cat ears were pressed flatly against her head, and her eyes look guilty of what she brought Weiss into.

"Blake Belladonna. Do I have your word that you would not betray me?" Weiss asked Blake. Blake looked surprised of what she said.

"I don't understand why you'd liste-" Weiss interrupted Blake before she finished her sentence.

"Just answer the question, yes or no!"

"Ye-yes! You have my word…" Blake said, clutching her chest.

"***Sigh*** Alright… Let me change back first… I'll be back." Weiss opened her car door and looked outside to see if anyone would spot her. When she was sure, it was safe; she picked up the bag with her clothes earlier and ran to the restroom again. It didn't take almost 2 minutes before she finished changing back, folding her outfit back into the bag and ran back to the car. She opened the car trunk and hid the bag there before closing it. She walked to the driver's seat and knocked. The window rolled down.

"I'll be heading back there and talk with Ruby. Follow me after 5 minutes." Blake nodded and closed the window again. Then Weiss walked out of the parking lot, and returned to the scene of the crime. The police were already investigating. Weiss saw the two men she knocked out earlier, handcuffed and locked inside a police car before said police car took off to take the two criminals to the station. A medic, who was checking if Ruby had any injuries, on the other hand was a detective who looked like he was in his early forties. The detective wore a grey dress shirt that has a long tail, a pair of black dress pants along with matching black dress shoes. He also wore shoulder holsters, with his gun, sitting neatly on its holster. The detective has a graying black hair and slight stubble along his jawline. His dull red eyes showed tiredness and stress. Weiss approached the two until she was in earshot.

"… Hey there pipsqueak , what happened to ya? Care to tell me?" The detective said. Ruby nodded, her eyes kind of glinting with excitement.

"Sure thing, uncle Qrow." Ruby said. '_**Uncle Qrow?**_' Weiss surprised with what she heard.

"So I was going to get my bag I left at the diner right there." Ruby pointed towards the end of the street, and saw Weiss. "Oh Weiss, there you are!" Ruby greeted, smiling again at her. Weiss, still can't help but remember what happened earlier. The detective, Qrow, then approached Weiss.

"Hey, you. Were you involved with the crime?" He interrogated. Before Weiss could answer him, Ruby assured Qrow that she was not involved.

"No, uncle Qrow, she was with me earlier in the diner. She was my uhm, my date when we celebrated Yang's birthday." Ruby said. Weiss blushed at what Ruby said, making her completely forgot about why she was here. '_**THAT DOLT! GIVING ME HEART ATTACKS ONE AFTER ANOTHER!**_'

"Well well, looks like pipsqueak here got herself a girlfriend." Qrow smirked. Ruby blushed but did not made any further comments about it. Qrow then continued with his questions to Ruby. "Alright, so your friend here wasn't involved. Continue with what you were telling me." Ruby then explained how she ended up in the bank.

"As I was saying, I was going to get my bag when I heard a loud bang from the bank. Then the alarms went off. I investigated to see what happened. While I was there, they knocked me out." Ruby finished. What Ruby said made Weiss look at her suspiciously. '_**Why didn't she say anything about the Red Rose Thief?**_' was gone through her head.

"Alright then kiddo. What you did was a good thing, but don't let yourself get hurt over it, kay? I'm not gonna let you end up like… You know who." Qrow said, Ruby suddenly looked sad.

"I know uncle Qrow… I'm sorry."

"Hey, don't beat yourself up about it. It's okay. You're training to be a detective like me, so that's to be expected. But don't forget that you **always** need backup." Qrow said, rubbing his niece's head affectionately, pulling Ruby cheering her up.

"Okay uncle Qrow, I'll remember it!" Ruby grinned. '_**It's moments like these that made me like her. As if nothing can make her feel sad for such a long time.**_' Weiss thought.

"Welp, I best be going, I just came here to pick up those fools. Take care of yourself kiddo." he told Ruby, before shifting his attention to Weiss. "And you best take care of my niece, Schnee."

"Ho-how did you know?" Weiss looked surprised but forgot the most obvious characteristic of a Schnee.

Qrow pointed at her hair. "Well, your hair is white. It's not a very common hair color now is it?"

Weiss opened her mouth to say something, but Qrow, quickly dismissed her.

"I'll be going now Ruby, so take care heading home." Qrow waved goodbye to Ruby and walked off.

"So uhm, hehe, sorry about my uncle. He's just like that. But he's nice, I promise."

"Well… he seemed… eccentric."

"Yeah, sorry…"

"It's alright Ruby.

"Uhm, Weiss, are you okay?" Ruby asked, looking curiously at Weiss.

"What do you mean? I'm f-fine." Weiss assured her to the best of her abilities, even though it was a lie. Even though she knows Ruby would never hurt her, she still can't shake the feeling of fear she felt when she was staring down the barrel of Ruby's gun.

"Weiss, your eyes looks red… Are you sure you're okay?" Ruby now started to look worried. Weiss wished she could confide with her friend but how could she, when she's the one who made her this feel this way in the first place. On one hand, she knows she has feelings for Ruby. Yet on the other, Ruby almost killed her, although unintentional. This time she had to choose. Tell the truth or reveal her secret; that the one of the reasons she was scared not only because of that her life is in danger, but also because did not want to see Ruby look angry. And because she does love her.

"I was just… crying earlier. I was worried that something happened to you Ruby." Weiss confessed. Ruby blushed to a shade of pink when she heard what Weiss had to say. "I've known you for a long time now, I know you could be such a dummy and get yourself hurt. I don't have a lot of friends, and you're my special best friend Ruby. You're the first friend I had ever since I was young…"

"Weiss, I… I'm sorry I almost got into trouble. It's just… I thought that the **Thief** would be here. But I promise you Weiss, I would never let myself get into trouble. I promise." Ruby said with a smile on her face. It made Weiss feel a bit better. '_**I need to learn more about Ruby. There has to be a reason why she's like that earlier.**_'

* * *

After a few minutes, Blake arrived with the car. Ruby offered to accompany Weiss home, which Weiss accepted. And soon they are now standing in front of Weiss' door bidding each other good night.

"So, uh, good night Weiss. And see you tomorrow." Ruby said before Weiss stopped her.

"Ruby wait, I had something to ask you. And can you promise me you won't be mad?

"What is it, Weiss?"

"Ruby, I heard news that the Red Rose Thief would be at the bank… Was that why you investigated the bank and did not call for back up." Ruby was in shock. '_**I guess I was right.**_' Weiss thought to herself, waiting for Ruby's answer.

"I… forgot that you're also a detective in the making… Yeah, you were right, Weiss. I was there to find her." Ruby confessed with downcast eyes.

"But why Ruby? I… want to know. You promised me you won't find yourself in trouble so I need you to tell me… Please…"

"Alright Weiss… I will tell you. It was back when I was a kid… Me and my mom were living together just outside the city. She was also a detective and she was investigating a theft…" Ruby explained, looking at Weiss' reaction. And when she looked at her, she could tell Weiss already figured out the answer.

"Yeah… She was… Well, she's in a better place now… And that **thief** will pay for her crimes… I swore it to mom. " Ruby's eyes started watering, reminding her of her past. Weiss couldn't take it anymore and hugged Ruby.

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to remind you of that…"

"Hehe, it's okay Weiss," Ruby said, pulling away from the hug, and held Weiss' hands. "Mom said I should always be brave and never remain sad, because people will always need someone to cheer them up. So I have to be brave."

"Sigh, you're impossible…" Weiss smirked. "But I am glad you are what you are. Never stop being like that." Weiss placed a kiss on Ruby's cheek, making Ruby blush bright pink. "Good night, Ruby." Weiss said.

"Good night, Weiss." Ruby said before heading back to the gate out of the mansion. Blake offered Ruby a ride home but declined, saying, "Yang will just pick me up when I call her." Blake and Weiss went inside the mansion, soon after Ruby left.

* * *

Weiss approached Blake, as soon as they entered. "Don't think you're going anywhere. Not until you explained yourself." Blake let out a sigh before straightening herself and looked back at Weiss.

"I wasn't trying to. I did promise you I'd talk. So, what do you want to know about?"

"The whole thief fiasco. Are you here to steal from me?" Weiss accused.

"Not at all. I don't steal for money. But would you believe I steal for something greater?"

"What are you talking about? Weren't you there to steal all of the lien in the bank?" Weiss eyeing Blake suspiciously.

"No. Instead, I was there to steal evidence. Evidence about under the table dealings with the Schnee Corporation and less than respectable people."

"I don't understand. My father would never do something like that!" Weiss shouted, making Blake wince. Blake just shrugged and kept going.

"That's not what I've seen tell me. Have you seen how the faunus are being treated? We've been treated like slaves, lower than human beings. Our salaries have been reduced lower than the lowest possible salary ever made by anyone. And that's not the worst of all…" Blake paused to calm herself down before continuing with what she's saying. Weiss looked at her with the same shocked look on her face from what she heard from Blake.

"… The worst of all was the mine shafts… Not only the faunus there are working every day with their lives always on the risk, starving almost to death and are always unhealthy from the fumes from the mines… I became a thief to reveal to the world how the faunus are… no, how are **we **treated by humans. I believe I can change their views and gather support to turn our lives around…"

"Then one day," Blake continued, "I've been offered a job; The Red Rose Thief job by someone under the codename **Queen**. She promised me that if I do this, she'll help me make the world a better place for humans and faunus. After all, we don't steal money, or hurt anyone. Just gather information and evidence."

"Blake, I'm sorry… I didn't know… I… I don't condone the mistreatment towards the faunus." Weiss said, before continuing on. "And if my father is indeed involved… I promise that once I've taken my seat at the Schnee Corporation, I'll make changes right away… You have my word on that."

"Thank you, Weiss. I'm glad we have your support but, I fear it might be too late if we were to wait for it to happen…" Blake said frankly. "It needs to stop now before people die."

And for another time tonight, a conundrum has presented itself to her. After thinking for a moment, she looked at Blake and asked "What do you plan to do?"

"Well, I would continue my life as the Thief and as your personal chauffer." This gave Weiss an idea.

"You know Blake, all my life I was raised as a princess by my father, wanting me to be his perfect successor. He wants me to be like him, cold and analytical, only needing the results and getting it through any means possible and as efficient as possible. I want to believe that my father is innocent… But deep down, I think I already knew. That's why I became a detective like my sister… To find out the truth. He didn't want that… So I rebelled against my father. Even with the smallest things like the way I style my hair, it's all for getting back at my father. I want to change how the entire world sees the Schnee Family name. I see the faunus should be respected and treated the same as humans. And so if there is a way of getting to that goal as soon as possible, I would grab that opportunity."

"What are you trying to say, Weiss?" Blake now curious as to what is Weiss is getting at.

"Blake, I want to take over your job, as the Red Rose Thief." Weiss decided, leaving Blake surprised even more, as Weiss continued on. "You will have to teach me your ways, and I'll do my best to adapt to them. And I want you to promise me that you'll help me uncover what happened to Ruby's mom. For her sake."

Blake gave herself some time to think before saying, "Okay… I accept your decision. I'll have to consult with Queen of course, but I'm sure she'd be glad to get the help of a Schnee."

Weiss then seemed content and left out a smirk. "So, when do we start?"

"Tomorrow, if you'd like. And tell me all the skills that you can bring for our cause."

"Sure. For now, I've had enough of all these surprises. I need to sleep. Good night Blake."

"Good night, Weiss. See you in the morning." Blake waved off Weiss, as she walked up stairs, leaving Blake to think '_**I guess, this means that this will be the start of change. A Schnee, leading the charge? Sounds something we'd never expect.**_' She thought before heading to bed.

* * *

_**In the precinct…**_

Qrow steps out of the precinct, walking to the parking lot, tired of all the paperwork he had to do. Then, he pulled out his phone, pressed an unknown contact from his list and pressed call. After a short while, the call picks up.

"Hey, I've got something to report… Yeah, **Red** showed up. One of my officers interrogated them and described **her**… What? _**She**_wants me to keep the secret from her **princess**? But why?.. ***sigh*** Alright, alright. If that's what she wants. I'll watch over her. But tell her that **Red** may not be as who _**she **_thinks… Oh, she already knew. Well, that makes my job easier then… Alright, I'm gonna go now… Yeah yeah, '_**Love live the Queen**_' or whatever it was." Then Qrow dropped the call.

"***Sigh*** Well that's gonna make things complicated." Qrow said to himself before walking back inside the precinct.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author Notes: Hey, will be posting this a day earlier, as I'll be busy the whole day so I wouldn't be able to post it at the proposed day. But it's good, right? Anyways, please review and leaving your comments will help me out a lot and enjoy!**

* * *

Weiss stood down a long dark hallway, with the only way out was at the other end. And there stood Ruby, readying to aim her gun at her or rather, someone behind her.

Weiss turned around and saw another figure. A lone figure clothed in red. And when she saw her own face on the figure, she couldn't help but feel afraid. Afraid of she'll get hurt. '_**Ruby… I'll find a way to save you**_**.**' Then she faced Ruby again. Only this time when she did, all she saw was her father, Jacques, his face turning red with anger, holding the same gun she saw earlier. And she looked down, and noticed that now she's wearing her thief's outfit, holding a rapier, sharp as ever.

"**WEISS! HOW DARE YOU FIGHT AGAINST YOUR OWN FATHER!" **Jacques booming voice resonating in her ears, almost going deaf. Her knees gave way, as she tried to plunge her rapier down to the ground as a crutch. And then a flurry of rose petals scattered from the tip, and then the whole hallway disappeared. Now she's standing in a field of roses, with the sun giving a gentle warmth that she enjoyed during spring. And across the field where her father stood were not one, but two persons, with their backs facing Weiss. One of them wore a red jacket that had black leather straps and belt, which turned around, revealing to be Ruby, smiling and beckoning her to come over.

"Weiss, come here!" Ruby smiled at her, as she kept waving at her. Weiss smiled back, and sprinted to approach them. The other figure who was the same height as Ruby, wore a crimson cloak, started to turn around as well, and a voice came out, calling to her as well.

"_Weiss…_"

'_Weiss…_'

_**Weiss!**_

* * *

"Weiss! Wake up!"

"AHH!" Weiss let out a scream as she woke up from her slumber. Her eyes glanced over her room, finding out that she was just dreaming, and was in fact in her room. Her room still decorated with the crystal chandelier, which she used to fear that fall on her head, her white fuzzy rug that she enjoyed sliding her feet repeatedly, and her now messy study desk, which she forgot to sort the notebooks out last night. Her balcony door opened, letting the warm rays of the sun, giving her room a bright light, her wardrobe still standing near the bathroom door, which seemed imposing to her, given her size. Then she noticed the other person in her room. The purple faded hoodie and black ripped denim pants the person wore accentuate the person's figure, especially the person's lower torso. The person's messy ebony hair made said person look like a mane of hair, the pair of cat ears not helping at all. '**Like a cat. A fluffy, attractive cat.** **Wait. A cat?**' Weiss thought, putting two in two as to who woke her up from her slumber. Weiss blushed, remembering that she's wearing her nightgown, that was so thin that it's like a wearing a cloud to her. Pulling up her blanket, and pointed at the faunus inside her room, about to scream bloody murder again, while blushing fifty shades of red.

"**Blake, what are you doing here?! Don't you know this is a breach of privacy?!**" she shrilled, her finger shaking with anger as the faunus in question just winced in pain while covering her human ears, her cat ears pressing flat against her head.

"Geez, sorry Weiss, I just came here to wake you up because you haven't come downstairs yet." Bake explained, touching her cat ears, as if they were injured.

"Then you should have just knocked!"

"I did! Twenty times actually."

When Weiss heard this, she now felt more embarrassed more than angry. She rarely oversleeps, and especially more rare for her to not be woken up easily by almost anything. She is a light sleeper after all. "We-well, I guess I overslept. But still, you should mind your own privacy. I don't want anyone to see me in this state of clothing. Although, I do owe you an apology for over reacting. I'm sorry."

"It's alright. I'm sorry too for breaching on your privacy. But you need to get up now, or you'll be late." Blake said as Weiss realized what she meant. '**Oh, school. Almost forgot**.'

"Alright, I'll go get ready, wait for me downstairs. I'll see you in a few minutes." Weiss said, as she pulled off her blanket and stood up from her bed before doing her usual morning routine.

"Sure. See you downstairs." Blake said as she nodded and closed Weiss' bedroom door carefully to avoid making a noise.

Weiss walked downstairs to see Blake sitting casually in a chair, reading a book with the cover slightly covered by her hand, but Weiss could read out a few of the uncovered words, "Ninjas of". Then she looked at Blake's flushed face, smiling ever so slightly, biting the bottom of her lips, and her eyes slightly squinting. Weiss could clearly tell Blake was enjoying her book a little too well. To announce herself that she's in the room, she cleared her throat, making Blake jump up in surprise. The book went flying out of Blake's hands and up into the air, as she scrambled to get it back. Once she did, she straightened herself out, closing the book with a heavy ***thump***, with her eyes closed, blushing heavily. Weiss looked at her skeptically.

"Blake, what's wrong?" Weiss crossed her arms, still eyeing her employee suspiciously. Blake opened her eyes and sighed before answering.

"I-I was just surprised. I thought you'd be coming down later."

"Well, what were you reading anyways?" Weiss asked once more, before trying to reach out to the book that Blake grabbed and placed it away from her.

"It's nothing! It's just a romantic novel that I enjoyed reading…"

"O...kay. I'm sorry for bothering you, I suppose. But you know, I enjoy reading as well." Weiss said as she sat down the chair, preparing to eat her breakfast. "So I was wondering if we can sometimes talk about the books we both enjoyed."

"That would be nice. Thank you, Weiss." Blake said and placed her book down on the table, as they both enjoyed their breakfast, Weiss eating a salad and some toast and Blake drinking chamomile tea. After eating, Weiss stood up and went to get her bag, Blake leaving to get the car ready. Soon enough, the two were already on their way to the academy.

"So let me get this straight, you're a thief who steals information about dirty dealings and this will put a stop to the unfair treatment to the faunus workers?" Weiss said, as she looked out the window from her limo.

Blake replied, with her eyes on the road, "Not really. I steal information for my boss, the **Queen**, and they use that information to be used by the reporters and reveal their wrong doings. And in turn, politicians, especially those who support the Faunus rights, will use it to further our cause to write a law for the faunus."

"Now it makes sense. At first, I really was wondering how this will help us out. But won't everyone wonder how they would find out those information?"

"The **Queen** takes care of it. There is more than just one thief in this group Weiss, including me. There are thieves who do steal valuables to cause distractions for the police. Especially for us, since the **Red Rose Thief** is the only thief they have that is flamboyant enough to introduce themselves." Blake looked at Weiss from the rear-view mirror.

"Why do I feel like you're blaming me for that?" Weiss glared back at Blake, to which Blake just smirked, before looking back at the road.

"No, I'm not blaming you, what you did actually help. Now the police are looking for a thief wearing red clothing and a mask. That makes it easy for us to draw a target for them, while others work easier." Blake said.

"But that makes it harder for us! Won't it make our work even more dangerous than it already is?!" Weiss can't help but feel upset with what Blake is saying, as their car stopped in a junction, waiting for the red light to turn green.

Blake turned around to personally face Weiss, her face looking apologetic. "I know Weiss, but I promised you, I won't let you get hurt. The **Queen**, develops certain tools for us thieves to use. Or even better, they could develop weapons for us to defend ourselves with. And since you are good at fencing-"

Weiss interjected, "I'm not just good, I'm exceptional at fencing. I've been fencing ever since I was 7 years old." she said, while looking very smug about it, as the light turned green, and Blake drove onwards.

"Right. Anyways, like I said, they could develop weapons for us, so I took the liberty to request one for you. I'm sure they'll be done before our first heist." Blake continued. However, Weiss was still not convinced.

"But still, this is still very dangerous for the both of us."

Blake smirked once more, "Whoever said it's just the two of us? Remember when I said that there are more than just us? Well, we have support. I call them **Gambol **and **Shroud**."

"Who are they?" Weiss looked at Blake curiously, shifting her gaze to her chaperone.

"Two faunuses that I helped before. They wanted to repay me for what I did for them, so they work for me, in turn, working for my boss."

"I see…" Weiss replied. Soon after, they arrived at the academy's parking lot, looking the same as the night before, only a few cars parked in the corner. Before they both walked out of the car, Blake called for Weiss' attention.

"Weiss, I'm going to go check out your first heist. I'm going to gather intel from the two and hopefully, we find what we need. So for now, enjoy school Weiss. I'll be back to pick you up."

"Okay Blake, best of luck to you." Weiss said, as she picked up her bag, and walked to the academy doors. Blake stepped out of the car as well, locking the door with her keys. With the sound of the doors locking, Blake walked to the same diner Weiss and her friends ate in. After placing her order of tuna sandwiches and tea, she opened her book, and continued where she left off, while waiting for her contacts.

* * *

Weiss walked down the hallway while holding all the stuff she needed for Combat Class with Ms. Goodwitch, knowing that going there unprepared will only leave her in pain, physically, and mentally, for she is known to be very studious. Opening the gym doors, she saw that most of her class are warming up, stretching with their partners, with Ms. Goodwitch nowhere to be found. Her eyes wander a bit more and she saw her partner, the energetic redhead. Ruby was stretching by herself, trying to bend over backwards to stretch her back, but only end up falling on her behind with a loud groan. Weiss couldn't help but giggle at her antics before approaching her.

"You know, you could have done other stretches that don't require two persons to do it." Weiss said with a smile, placing a hand on her hip, while flipping her hair to the side.

Ruby opened her mouth to reply, but closed her mouth after giving what Weiss said a thought. She rubbed the back of her head before letting out an embarrassed laugh. Weiss scoffed, before offering her hand out to Ruby, to which Ruby gratefully took, and used it to help herself up off the ground. After dusting herself off, she immediately gave Weiss a bear hug, to Weiss' dismay, as the heiress' face lit up.

"Good morning bestie!" Ruby grinned as she squeezed the life of her friend, whom continued to redden and try to get the vice grip arms off her all the while scolding her for public display of affections, which for so many long years she known Ruby, still can't quite get used to her way of displaying affection. Weiss got more aware of her surroundings and saw that a few of their classmates are now staring at them, making Weiss turn crimson from embarrassment, while Ruby still gripping her tightly.

"**RUBY!** Please, people are looking at us!" Weiss said, as she tried to shake Ruby off her, understanding what Weiss meant. Ruby then looked oddly guilty enough for doing something embarrassing for the heiress, who's been socially awkward for almost her whole life.

"Ehehe, sorry Weiss, I forgot… Will you forgive me?" Ruby asked, with a small pout, and her best puppy dog eyes, shining like silver orbs, doing their best to look guilty for the heiress. Weiss looked away with annoyance, knowing fully well that Ruby is using her best underhanded technique to make Weiss forgive her. But even looking away, her eyes can't help but feel like looking at them. And when she did, she know she already lost. '**I just can't stay mad her, can't I?**' Weiss asked herself, knowing fully well why. '**Curse my fondness to this…Lovable dolt!**' she thought once more, slapping herself mentally in the process before facing Ruby completely, who now has a small smile on her face, who also knew that Weiss couldn't resist her. Crossing her arms and letting a loud "Hmph!", she contemplated on what she's going to say.

"Well, I-I suppose you could be forgiven. But I'm warning you, another more of these and I'll be… uhm, truly upset with you!" Weiss said, remembering that this wasn't the last time she did this, and probably will not be the last time either. Ruby, cheered, and grinned like a Cheshire cat.

"Awww I knew you would!" Ruby said, before attempting to hug Weiss again. But before she could, Weiss placed her hands on Ruby's shoulders, holding her in place.

"What did I just say?!" Weiss glared at her, still flushed from the previous contact. Ruby just let out a giggle before mouthing another apology. "Well, apology accepted, don't have any more ideas, Ms. Goodwitch might arrive now." Weiss said, as Ruby straightened herself up, dusting herself off, while Weiss brushed her hair with her hand, careful enough not to ruin her long hair. Soon enough, the doors opened and Ms. Goodwitch was walking down in front of the gym. Glynda Goodwitch, a blonde haired middle-aged woman, who has a 'No nonsense' look on her emerald green eyes. Despite teaching Combat Classes, she wore a long white pleated shirt with cuffs, and wore a black high-waist pencil skirt with bronze heels, making her look more of a professional than a fight instructor. Yet regardless, she is an officer from the BPD who teaches combat to students wanting to join the force. When she arrived to the center of the room, she took the attention of everyone in the room with a strike of her riding crop, which was hidden on her waist, and hit her hand. Everyone in the room hurriedly stopped talking and fall in.

"Alright, now that all everyone is ready, I will not waste time and get with the lessons immediately. Today, it would be sparring class against your respective partners. Pick a mat from the storage and begin your warm ups. I'll call your names and you'll fight in front of the class. I'll be judging your fights according to technique and whoever wins. Now go." the instructor said, as the students rushed to get their mats and proceed.

After a few mishaps with the mats, Weiss and Ruby found a place to warm up properly in the gym. Weiss helped Ruby with stretch her legs, and took turns doing so. While doing so, the two started talking about their oncoming graduation, which was in just a few weeks.

"So, what do you plan to do after graduating, Ruby?" Weiss asked, as she pressed down on Ruby's legs, preventing it from bending while Ruby stretches.

"Well, I wanna join the BPD with Yang. Hopefully, I could lead an investigation with Yang and the gang against the Red Rose Thief." Ruby said nonchalantly.

"Ruby, can I ask you something personal? About the Red Rose Thief." Weiss said, letting go of Ruby's legs, but not moving from her spot. Ruby leaned back on her arms, resting for a bit and paying attention to Weiss.

"Not at all. What do you wanna know?"

"Well, I was just curious if the reason why you became a detective was to hunt for the Thief." Weiss said, while Ruby shaked her head in disagreement.

"You remember when I told you that my mom was also a detective? When I was a kid, I used to think of her as a super hero who puts away bad guys behind bars. And I guess I still do. I wanted to be just like her. My uncle also helped inspire me cuz he's pretty cool." Ruby smiled at Weiss, putting on a brave face for her. Weiss noticed it and decided not to push it any further. Instead, she stood up and stretched her hand out for Ruby, looking at her hand curiously.

"And you're doing a good job so far. So let's keep working harder, okay?" Weiss smiled, that Ruby returned with a slightly large smile and took her hand, clasping it gently and Weiss pulled her up. Soon after, Goodwitch started calling names, and those who were called sparred against each other while the rest watch. While watching, Weiss noticed that Ruby is slightly flushed and fidgeting. Weiss was just about to ask her what was wrong before Ruby placed her hand on top of Weiss' hand, making the heiress redden at the touch.

"R-Ruby?"

"Uhm, I'm just glad that you're my best friend Weiss. So, I think I'm being thankful hehe… Sorry, you might think I'm weird…" Ruby smiled sheepishly, but making no attempts to remove her hand. Weiss didn't made any complaints about it so she thinks its fine.

"…You're welcome." Weiss replied, looking everywhere but at Ruby. After a while, they continued watching the fight, with their hands still touching, both content with it. But the same thoughts running through their thoughts '**Do I like her more than just a friend? Am I enjoying this? Will this ever end?**' but with both different reasons.

'**I know I liked Ruby more than just a friend, but I still don't know if she's attracted to girls! Why does it have to be this hard to be in love!'**

'**I hope Weiss doesn't think I'm weird. I still don't know if she likes girls. Even I still don't know if I like girls too! Darn it! I never thought holding her hand would feel this nice!** **Maybe I am into girls! Weiss' stupid soft hands are making this so difficult!**'

The two girls kept watching, but their attention was on something else, until their attention was called.

"Mr. Corcra, your technique seems to be lacking, but I'm impressed with your quick thinking to exploit your opponent's weakness. And Ms. Viola, try not to make your intentions too obvious. And don't let your opponent to take advantage of your weakness, like I just said earlier. Dismissed. Next is, Ms. Schnee and Ms. Rose. Please step into the mat." Goodwitch announced, calling for the two. Both Ruby and Weiss jumped from their seats, quickly pulling their hands away from each other while blushing a shade of red that puts Ruby's name to shame. Goodwitch noticed that something was bothering the two women and wondered why the two almost stumbled on their way to the sparring mat. All eyes were on them, some even whispering about them looking cute, and some whispering not good things about them.

"Are you two alright? Do you two need to go to the clinic?" Goodwitch asked, worried about her two students who shaked their head rather too quickly. Especially Weiss, who look like her head would snap if she went a little bit further with her shaking.

"N-n-no Ms. Goodwitch, we're fine! We're cool as a **cute** cumber!" Weiss said, while Ruby looked embarrassed even more, and tried to correct what her partner said.

"Ye-yeah! We're cool as **cucumber**!" Weiss immediately knew what she said earlier was a slip of the mouth, and just nodded in agreement, while Goodwitch stared at them with a weird expression. Ruby continued on, "We're pretty okay! **Pretty** like Wei-!" Weiss shut her friend up by covering her mouth, before looking apologetic at their instructor. Goodwitch now looked at them with more curiosity and disbelief, prompting Weiss to explain further. Weiss took a gulp of air, and looked back at the waiting instructor for an answer.

"Like my partner was saying, We are perfectly okay. We are ready to begin." Weiss said, taking her hand off Ruby's mouth. Goodwitch seemed convinced and let them off the hook.

"Okay. Please, whenever you're ready to begin." Goodwitch said, before leaving the mat and standing on the side, waiting for the two to finish whatever preparations they need to do. Weiss and Ruby approached each other, both are now calmed down, but still pretty flushed from embarrassment.

"Good luck Weiss. No holding back?" Ruby asked, with a small smile. Weiss smirked back, ready to accept the challenge. And to get back at Ruby for making her look like a complete fool in front of their instructor, whom she has deep respect to.

"Of course, and don't worry, I won't be gentle. At all." Weiss said, as she walked to the other side of the mat, taking her place and entering her fighting stance. Ruby just grinned and walked to opposite side of the mat, doing the same thing, before nodding at Goodwitch, making her know that they are now ready.

"The first person to get knocks to the ground wins and the one step outside the mat losses. No fighting dirty. Now, begin!" Goodwitch said, signaling the start of the match, the rest of the classes slightly cheering the two on, excited to see how the match would turn out. Neither of the fighters rushed to attack yet, carefully eyeing each other, wanting to see what would their opponent do first.

Weiss warily approached forward, and noticing that Ruby did the same. '**Okay, I've known Ruby, and I've seen her fight before. She's quick, merciless and unrelenting. But what she lacks is technique. And I'd be happy to exploit that.**' she thought. Once more, she stepped closer to Ruby. As Ruby attempted to copy her movement, Weiss took this opportunity to throw out a jab, wanting to see how she would react. Ruby quickly stepped back, not retaliating back and went back to waiting. Now Weiss thought of how Ruby would approach this fight. She needed to attack or Ruby will find something to use against her. With a yell, Weiss jumped into the air, with her knee extended out.

Ruby dodged again by fracture of a second before the hit connects, and continued doing so, avoiding most of Weiss' strikes, as Weiss kept trying to hit Ruby, keeping her away from the center of the mat and into the edge. Ruby looked behind her and noticed what Weiss was trying to do. Once she faced forward again, Weiss was nowhere to be found. Weiss crouched forward as she crossed the remaining distance between them, and used her shoulder to bash into Ruby and knock her out of the mat. Except all she hit was air. '**Did I miss?**' she immediately thought.

"Huh?" was the last thing Weiss said, before she was sent flying down to the mat behind her. Ruby dodged at the last moment of her attack, grabbed her arm, and thrown Weiss with her shoulder. Weiss hits the mat, cushioning her from the blow, making the throw not too painful enough, but managed to knock the wind out of her lungs. Goodwitch called of the match, making clear that a winner has been made. Ruby helped Weiss up which the heiress gladly took and approached the impressed teacher.

"Ms. Schnee, I must congratulate you for thinking on your feet. You noticed that your opponent was waiting for the perfect opportunity to counter. You pushed them to the edge of the mat, and delivered a powerful attack to defeat them if it had connected. I advise you to approach other possible strategies to be made if you were to use your battle plan in actual combat. And Ms. Rose. I'm impressed with what you've did. A technique is useful and effective at taking down opponents with the least amount of damage as possible but rendering them ineffective for combat. I give you full marks. You two are now dismissed." and the instructor called another pair of names to soon spar, with the two women walking back to their places. Weiss still feeling breathless from earlier, almost managed to trip herself, but Ruby caught her in time to avoid embarrassment even further for the heiress.

"Whe… where did you learn that?" Asked Weiss at her friend whose carrying her over her shoulder.

"Yang taught me that. She said it's useful for me since I'm small, or whatever she says. I'm sorry by the way… Did I hurt you?" Ruby asked guiltily as Weiss disagreed instantly.

"No, it's fine. I was just surprised that's all. I never expected you to do something like that."

"Want me to teach you that throw? So you can surprise anyone you spar against. Probably even Yang herself." Ruby offered. Weiss smiled at Ruby's offer, which she gladly accepted. The two went back to their own mat and Ruby spent the rest of the time teaching Weiss how to throw. And in just a short time, Weiss is already proficient with it. Weiss thrown Ruby once more, as Ruby fell down on the mat with a loud thump, Weiss already rushing to check on Ruby.

"Ruby! Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"Nah, I'm good. You already mastered the throw so congrats Weiss!" Ruby said as she sprang back up on her feet with Weiss feeling a sudden surge of pride in her.

"It was only a matter of time before I get used to it anyways." Weiss said with a smug smirk on her face, which Ruby just giggled at. "What's so funny?" Weiss scowled.

"Nothing! Hey, wanna grab something to eat before heading back to class for Professor Ports? I swear I need the energy to stay awake in that class… He's so boring!"

"Okay, lead the way then." Weiss said, immediately regretting that decision, as Ruby took her hand once more and took off, dragging Weiss in the process.

"**RUBY SLOW DOWN!**" was the sound of the hallway as students avoid the white and red speeding bullets barreling down the hall.

* * *

Blake flips through a page of her book, this time a bit tamer title than the one she was reading in Weiss' mansion. It was a book about a person wanting to reach the object of his affection but could never obtain it. In Blake's own words "It's so romantic, so tragic." and has been meaning to finish the book as slowly she possibly could, wanting to immerse herself in the stories. That was what makes her day, a book in one hand, tea in the other, and peace. That soon got ruined by the sound of the diner doors opening.

"So I said, 'Now that's a katana!' and everyone laughed!" A loud voice joked as soon as they went in, along with another voice laughing at the joke.

"Well, that sounds awesome Yang! Man, I wish I was there when that happened. All I got is some dumb paperwork…"

"Aww, don't feel bad. You'll get in the action soon enough, Sun." Yang patted the back of Sun before plopping down on the seat of the diner, ready to order some food. Sun sat down, taking in the simple home'y vibe to the place. Blake covered her face with her book, eavesdropping on the conversation carefully, not wanting to attract attention.

"So anyways, how's being a junior detective working out for you?" Yang asked to her other blonde co-worker, a tan-skinned young man with short and spiky light-blonde hair and ocean blue eyes. He wore the standard BPD police uniform, still a rookie in training and Yang being his superior. Yang on the other hand, whose fair-skinned with lilac eyes and locks of golden hair worn loose. Her tan jacket covering most of her uniform but still look as if she could fight at any time of the week.

"Eh, it was alright. At least even before Neptune could start being an officer, I could have a head start on him. Then I'll be his superior!" Sun grinned while placing down his menu to order. Yang laughed at the idea of that, remember she did something like that to Jaune before.

"Then I gotta teach you some cool stuff from now on yeah?"

"You betcha!" Sun replied before slouching on his seat to be more comfortable.

"Hmm… Sun, wanna join up on some cool mission on Saturday night?" Yang suddenly asked, picking up the interest of Sun, and Blake, who's sitting just behind their booth, listening closer to hear more information.

"Uh yeah sure. What's the mission?"

"Okay, you didn't hear this from me, but there was a break-in yesterday in the bank right?" Sun nodded in agreement after Yang explained, as she continued on. "The two crooks who got caught apparently reported that the fabled **Red Rose Thief** was the one who did it. But then we got a request of 'Guarding the facility' by someone named **Junior**."

"Uhm, is that even possible? We're police, not security guards."

"That's what I thought too. Me and the guys suspected that it must have been some kind of illegal dealings going on. I've been noticing these things have been happening ever since that bastard, **Winchester** was placed in charge of the precinct."

"That's also illegal ya know. If you want to investigate that stuff, that will get everyone involved fired."

"I know, that's why we won't be investigating. Cardin had enough warnings from General **Ironwood**. If this thing fails, we can be able to report that our superior is a failure and we can ask for a replacement, hopefully it would be Mr. **Ozpin**!"

"But what if I goes well? Wouldn't that make things worse? And you can't actively sabotage a mission or you'll be labeled as a criminal."

"Man, chill down okay. I won't be pretending to help, I will arrest that thief. But once word comes out that we aren't supposed to be doing security guard work, Cardin will get fired or demoted at least from his rank. So it's a win-win for us! So, what do ya say? You in or not?" Yang asked. Sun waited for a moment at the same time their food arrived.

"Eh, sure, that sounds awesome! I can finally do some awesome cool cop work. Count me in!" Sun raised his fist to fist bump Yang, whom bumped back with same eagerness.

"Yeah! For now, let's get eating." Yang said before digging in. Blake had enough of what she heard and picked up her stuff, left a tip for the waitress and went to the door. She turned back around once more and caught Sun looking at her with a smug grin, and a wink. She returned the wink with a smirk on her face and a flip of her hair and she walked out the door. As she was walking down to the parking lot, she pulled out her phone and scrolled to the contact '**Shroud**' and pressed call. A female voice spoke through the phone.

'_So, was my intel correct?_'

"As always. **Gambol** just relayed the information back to me and I think we're all set here. How about on your end, is everything ready?"

'_Yeah, everything is ready. We just need the thief to be ready for the heist, which I assumed you already are._'

"Change of plans **Shroud**, we got a new thief running the name." Blake said as she unlocked the door of the car and slid back in the driver's seat and closing the door.

'_Oh. So whose our new __**Red**__?_'

"Not important right now, I'll introduce you to her once we're done with this heist."

'_Okay… But what should we call you from now on?'_

"Hmm… Call me **Midnight.**" Blake said as she dropped the call.

* * *

**"Corcra" means "purple" in old Irish.**

**"Viola" means "purple" as well, in Italian.**

**When I researched about what possible nicknames I could give to Blake's teammates (The two other thieves) I thought of Gambol and Shroud. Which worked perfectly for Sun, who's mischievous as a monkey and Gambol means jumping or running playfully. So I guess that only leaves Shroud, but I suppose you guys might already know who it is. Anyways, hope to see you all next week for the next chapter.**


	5. Chapter 5

"I still can't believe you ran into Professor Port of all people." Weiss fussed over Ruby as they stepped down the stairs right after their classes ended. The currently moping Ruby had her back slouched over to emphasize her sadness.

"I didn't mean for it to happen! I was busy trying to get to class **and **making sure you don't get hurt." Ruby explained herself, with her eyes comically full of tears. Even Weiss couldn't believe it was possible to look this. . . **foolish**.

"So let's recall what happened shall we?" Weiss said as she began to explain what happened, with Ruby exclaiming "Why. . !

* * *

**Earlier****. . .**

"Ruby, slow down!" Weiss yelled towards the running red haired maniac, as she was guided by Ruby to avoid being hit by the obstacles, which are students, school staff and walls in general. Ruby just let out a laugh, clearly enjoying the fussing of her aloof friend. She carefully weaved through left and right, making sure that her 'luggage' does the same. So far so good, if they kept this up, they'll be there in time at all she thought to herself, didn't notice the opening door of the teacher's lounge, and the unsuspecting professor was walking out said door, carrying a large amount of papers, mostly depicting his cases he amassed over his entire career as a former detective. Eyes widening, Weiss tried to halt Ruby by pulling on her, but only made it worse, Ruby looked behind her, and saw Weiss pointing ahead of her and by the time she see what Weiss was pointing at, it was too late. Papers flung away and scattered in the air, as Ruby hit the poor victim with a force similar to a gut punch, knocking the wind of the man, send him flying a few millimeters away because of impact, and lying down, trying to get back the air he lost.

The two girls spent an entire class period with guilty faces, Ruby apologizing to the professor as they helped him to the clinic. Port didn't seem to mind the entire accident, but gave them a fair warning to watch where they're going and that they were lucky that they didn't ran into Goodwitch. This prompted the bumbling professor to recall a story in his youth, where he experienced a similar incident. There have been warnings amongst students to never ever let Port tell stories, or you'll never escape until the story ends. Unfortunately, Peter Port is a braggart first, a storyteller second and professional last. And they were subjected to the experience, costing them the whole class period they were to spend with him, supposedly talking about laws and rules to follow. Their classmates were thankful for them for the free period, at the cost of their sanity.

". . . And to top it off, I'll never hear the end of it from Yang if she gets word of this." Weiss finished, Ruby agreed dejectedly, knowing her sister's desire to drive the heiress insane with her teasing, especially when it's related to Ruby.

"Trust me, I don't want that to happen too, I'll make sure of it. You're not the only one getting teased nonstop and you're not even living with her." Ruby pouted. Weiss couldn't agree more. To be in the same room with the two sisters, day in and day out. It would drive her insane. She was about to say something, when she noticed Blake approaching them, with a small smile on her face.

"How was your day, Ms. Schnee?" Blake asked.

"It was fine, Blake, thank you for asking." Weiss paused before turning to Ruby. "I believe you two haven't formally met each other. Ruby, this is Blake Belladonna, my, uhm, chaperone. And Blake, this is Ruby Rose, my close friend." Weiss introduced, with Ruby coughing "Super bestie." to which Weiss rolled her eyes in response. Blake graciously outstretched her hand to shake, and Ruby did as well.

"It's a pleasure to formally meet you Ms. Rose." Blake said.

"Oh, hehe, just Ruby's fine. And it's great to meet you too." Ruby finished, letting the handshake end.

"And I'm Yang!" a voice suddenly said, surprising the trio, who voiced out their surprise.

"Yang!" Ruby said, looking happy to see her sister, running to hug her, which was returned with equal fervor.

"You dunce! Why did you sneak up on us?!" Weiss shrieked at Yang, who instantly let go of Ruby to cover hear ears, infuriating Weiss even further.

"Geez, nice to see you too Weiss. I see you've grown larger since the last time I saw you. Did you grow a few inches last night?" Yang said with a mischievous smirk. It's one thing to surprise Weiss when she least expects it. It's also one thing for the heiress to be late. But there's a few rules that are not to be done when Weiss is near; touching her hair without her permission, and said permission isn't easy to come by, her chest which she's very sensitive about, especially when compared to Ruby, whose younger than Weiss, albeit with a larger chest size, and making fun of her height. And Yang broke one of those rules. Which Yang does almost every opportunity she has, within reason of course.

Weiss' face turned red with anger, and climbed the back of the tall blonde and tried to choke the lights out of Yang. "Take that back, you big brute!" Weiss screamed while gripping tighter to keep her position behind Yang, and choking a little harder. Yang laughed while coughing, struggling to breathe. Blake just watched things unfold with a surprised look on her face, mouth agape. She's worried that Weiss might end up killing the blonde, but Ruby assured her with a pat on her back, noticing her worried look

"Ah don't worry, this is normal for them. They won't kill each other." Ruby said, making Blake's jaw drop even further.

"Shouldn't we stop them. . ?"

"Nah, it's about time that Yang will apologize and promise not to do that again." Ruby said, pointing at the two, proving what Ruby said.

"Alright, alright, I give! Uncle!" Yang tapped on Weiss' arms, whom immediately let go, and jumped down from her.

"Now, are you going to apologize?" Weiss asked, arms crossed with her head raised. Yang nodded and raised her hand in apology that Weiss took slowly, before smiling at her other dear friend.

"I promise I won't mess with you again, you're getting stronger." Yang grinned, making the smaller woman's smile grow wider.

"Thank you, Ruby and I have been working hard after all." then Weiss continued to tell stories of their school to Yang.

* * *

"Ruby, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, Ms. Belladonna."

"Blake is just fine. How many times does this happen?"

Ruby stared at her before giving her an answer. "More often than not. It's practically a routine at this point."

"And how long have they known each other?" Blake asked the younger girl, who raised her five fingers. The silence Ruby gave was enough to make Blake cringe.

"So, who's the lady?" Yang asked Weiss, standing up with her strong hands on her shapely curved hips. Weiss introduced Blake for the second time, this time to her other close friend. Not that she'll admit that to Yang. Nope. Not in a million years.

"As I said before, this is Blake Belladonna, my chaperone. And she's Yang Xiao Long, my other. . . friend." Weiss finished. Yang took this opportunity to poke fun at the heiress again.

"Aww, why the long pause? Am I not your friend?" Yang faked a pout, letting her shoulders droop down for effect.

"I was thinking of a better way to describe you. So far, that's the best thing I can come up with."

"Oof, you really struck a nerve there, Ice Queen. And you wonder why we call you that."

"You know what, I take it back. Blake, this idiotic, moronic, and dim witted person is Ruby's sister!"

"Awww, you're making me blush, Weiss!"

"That was an insult!" Yang opened her mouth to reply but Blake stepped in before it escalates further.

"You're Ruby's sister? You don't look alike."

"Yang's my half-sister." Ruby answered. "We share the same dad, just different moms. But still," Yang outstretched her arms, as Ruby grabbed on and hung on, Yang showing off her muscles and how strong she is to the two. "I love her as if she were my real sister!"

"Well duh, that's cuz I **AM** your real sister!" Yang said, with a proud look on her face, and grabbed a handful of Ruby's hair and ruffled it.

Ruby stomped her foot in protest, doing fake karate chops to avoid the hand messing her hairstyle. "Yaaaaaanggg, I'm not a baby anymore! I'm already an adult, stop treating me like one! And besides, I drink milk. I'm getting taller now." Ruby's puffed up her cheeks, which Yang shook her head in disagreement and continued her actions.

"Even if you get 60 years old, you'll still be my baby sister! And milk does help you a little bit. Weiss, you should definitely try some of Ruby's milk! It's working well for her!" Yang egged on. Ruby and Weiss blushed, for completely two different reasons.

"Yang! You're embarrassing me!"

"I'm not some kind of hooligan that will just suck her chest!"

* * *

The two girls looked at each other before turning away, not wanting to embarrass themselves even further. Especially Weiss, whose blush could possibly the darkest shade of red the world has ever seen. Ruby's unreadable mixed expression of embarrassment, anger towards her sister, and surprise. Blake's reaction was more along the lines of seeing a ghost. Yang's expression however was an innocent smile on her face.

"I never said anything like that, Weiss. Care to explain?" Yang said, taunting Weiss even more. And it makes her want to punch Yang. However, she knew this was getting them nowhere and her being here was a surprise, seeing as she was usually doing her job, catching criminals and putting them behind bars.

"Yang, what **are** you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the precinct?" Weiss asked, putting a stop to the teasing, making Yang take the topic seriously.

"Oh yeah, I was gonna invite Ruby here for some super-secret investigation. But seeing as you're here, I thought it would also be a good experience for you too. That way, you guys have an edge once you graduate." Yang concluded, Ruby smiling and shivering in excitement.

"Isn't that being irresponsible? Oh who am I kidding, we're talking about you of course. . . Wouldn't it be dangerous? And besides, you're giving out sensitive information towards the public." Weiss said, pointing at Blake, who was meekly nodding in agreement. Even Ruby agreed, albeit with a bit more enthusiasm.

"Aw, I'm sure it's fine. She works for you anyways. So she could be your '_Albert_' to your '_Neverman_'. And I trust you that you won't spill secrets, Weiss. So that includes you too Ms. Belladonna." Yang explained, making a good point. Weiss was about to say something about being a dangerous mission before Yang dismissed it. "I'm going to be there with you. And we'll be undercover so no one would be able to tell that we're investigating. And I'll be sure to keep you all safe."

Before Weiss could say no, Blake tapped her on the shoulder, urging her to talk about something in private. Weiss excused the two of them from Yang and Ruby and talked in secret.

"Blake, what is this about? Don't tell me you're going to agree with her?"

"Actually, that's what I'm here for. I told you that I would be getting information for our heist and well... That heist is the same place Ms. Xiao Long was talking about. And this is the perfect opportunity to do some reconnaissance."

"You're not serious are you? We're with a police officer, a detective whose probably hell bent on capturing **me** and this is just the first one." Weiss argued.

"That is why it's the perfect alibi. No one would suspect someone like you to be **her**." Blake argued, putting an emphasis on the last word, referencing Weiss' new alter ego. In her mind, it really does make sense, and it's perfect to ensure that the mission will be a success. Still, she couldn't shake off this feeling that they might bite more than they could chew. '**Still, it's better than being unprepared. And I did agree to this, so into the belly of the beast it is.**'

Weiss turned to Blake, who was waiting for her answer. With a small nod to Blake, Weiss walked to back to Yang. "Alright Yang, we agree to join in your 'secret' mission. But you better make sure we're safe. Or you'll be answering to me." Yang smirked, with the look that says like she knew Weiss would agree.

"Yeah yeah, I promise. Hey, what about Ms. Belladonna?"

Blake shook her head and replied. "I would be going with you as well if you don't mind. It's my duty to be there for Ms. Schnee for anything. And, just call me Blake. " Blake added at the last second.

Yang's prankster instinct was already at work with the mention of doing anything for her boss, and her expression shows it. But before she could say anything, Weiss interrupted her. "Don't even try, Xiao Long. Now, please tell us where we are going."

"Aw yeah, we're going to a club owned by someone named '**Junior**'. Can we take your car to get there Weiss? Thanks!"

"I suppose it helps with the undercover work. . . Alright, Blake, will you please do the honors." Weiss looked at Blake who bowed before going off to fetch the limousine for the girls. While they were waiting, Ruby asked a meaningful question.

"Yang, this is a secret mission, but we still don't know who the culprit is in this case. So c'mon and tell us." Ruby beamed with a large smile on her face. Weiss knew it was about her, but she needed to look curious, and did her face to do so.

"This case is about the infamous phantom thief. . . The **Red Rose Thief**." Yang said with a serious look on her face. Weiss looked at Ruby's face. The smile was gone. Her shivering in excitement was gone. All that Weiss saw was alike to the look she saw Ruby as she stared down to the barrel of her gun.

With her brows furrowed, lips pursed, Ruby replied with no hint of emotion in her voice. And Weiss prayed to the gods that she makes this mission a success.

"Finally."

**FINALLY GOT THIS UPLOADED. WELP, ENJOY. SEE YOU IN THE NEXT UPDATE.**


	6. Chapter 6

To say that the ride to Junior's was a nerve-wracking experience was an understatement. With Blake driving, while a subtly flirting Yang giving the directions. Not that Blake needs it. What's making her nervous was the person she's beside with in the back. Weiss could feel the tension in the air. It was so thick that she swore that she could take her rapier and slice it apart. She glanced over to her right and looked at Ruby, who for the most part, stared out into the window, watching the scenery change. It was perfectly okay if it weren't for the way Ruby hovered her hand right above her hip. From the looks of it, Ruby carried her gun at all times. Weiss wondered how Ruby manages to sneak it in Beacon without alerting any of the staff, but that's a mystery for another day. 

Ruby let out a small sigh, garnering the heiress' attention. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Weiss cleared her throat and tried to make small talk. "Nice weather we're having today, right, Ruby?" Inwardly, she chastised herself. '_**Am I that worried that I forgot to properly form sentences?**_' 

"I'm doing fine if that's what you're asking, Weiss." Ruby replied, not looking back at her. If Ruby turned around right now, she would see the hurt expression in Weiss' face, as she looked down, attempting to force the shock away. Weiss shook it off, knowing fully well that Ruby did not mean to offend her in any way. She also knew the reason why she's behaving like this was because of the huge grudge the younger girl has on the infamous thief. 

'_**Technically, you are the reason why she's acting like this.**_' A cynical voice taunted in her head. But before more of those frightening thoughts came, Weiss felt a hand on top of her own, holding her right hand while a burst of heartwarming feelings crept up from her hand to her face, as she blushed from the contact. 

She looked up to Ruby, who wore an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry Weiss. I shouldn't have been rude." 

"It's fine Ruby. I fully understand." Weiss smiled back, gripping the fingers wrapped around hers. 

"Okay, before you lovebirds get all smoochy and stuff, we're here." Yang said as she looked back from the front seat, which waggled her eyebrows in a teasing manner causing the two now equally embarrassed girls to let go of each other's hands and moved away from each other as far away as possible. Weiss missed the warmth that was lingering on her hand, as the limo slowed to a stop near the sidewalk. Yang and Ruby opened their side of the doors, as Blake paced up to Weiss' and opened it for her.

* * *

What Weiss saw was enough for her to furrow her eyebrows in disgust. Being raised in a wealthy family, she learned to appreciate things that are truly worth respecting, especially lavish things. As she grew up, she of course learned that not everything had to be covered in gold and glitter. However, one thing that remained was that she hated places or people who look like degenerates. Such as the building, she's staring at now. The neon lights blinking in and out, with words spelling out "Junior's" in a cursive font. The outside of the building look like it hasn't been cleaned or taken care of ever since the day it was constructed. The tinted windows clearly covered in dust; if a person would clean it with a white rag, said rag would turn black. And a pair of intimidating looking men who wore black suits with red ties, stood in front of the door, lazily talking with each other as loud music can be heard from where they were standing. 

"Welp, this is it. Junior's. C'mon, let's go in!" Yang nonchalantly walked onwards, slowly followed by the three young women. 

"Is it still too late to change my mind about going?" Weiss asked Yang, as she stared warily from all directions, as if she would be mugged in any minute. '_**I don't care if I'm with a licensed police officer, a police in-training and a personal bodyguard, I don't know what may happen.**_' Weiss thought to herself as Yang let out a chuckle. 

"Don't worry Weiss, I've been here countless times and it's totally fine." Yang waved off her worries, but still the unconvinced Weiss looked back at Blake, who gave her a reassuring nod. Weiss let out a small sigh as she trudged along. Ruby approached her, patted her back, and gave her a small smile. 

'**_There she goes with that stupidly cute smile. . . Why does it always work?_**' 

"Hey boys~!" Yang called out to the two bodyguards. Weiss saw the two stands immediately straight, as if they were soldiers. '_**And were they shivering?**_' 

"M-ms. Xiao Long?! Wh-what are you doing here, ma'am?!" One of the bodyguards yelled out. 

"Awww, didn't I told you to call me sir? Or do you want another **reminder**?" Yang asked sweetly, as the two yelped out. 

"**No no no no sir! We're sorry we forgot sir! Please don't hurt us!**" 

"Now why would I hurt a cutie like you?" Yang teased as she grazed her fingers on their arms as they let them all in and hurriedly closed the door behind them. 

"Was that really necessary?" Asked by Ruby instead. Yang just let out a hearty laugh as the other two tried to process what happened. 

"Oh lighten up Rubes. You gotta admit, those two were pretty funny." 

"I guess so. . ." Ruby replied quietly with a small grin, before seeing Weiss' expression of disbelief. And before Weiss got to ask, Ruby beat her to it. 

"Those two were interrogated by Yang way way back. I dropped by to the precinct when those two came out of the interrogation room crying. And then Yang came out, laughing hysterically." Ruby explained to the other two as Yang laughed once more. 

"Hell yeah, I did. And I'm proud that I came out. Now I'm just waiting for the perfect gal to come my way!" Yang proudly announced. Weiss groaned along with Ruby. 

"Yang, that's not what I meant when I said, came out." Ruby said. 

"So you're gay?" asked suddenly by Blake, surprising everyone. 

"Yup! Why you ask?" Yang looked back with a smirk, as she held the second door to the bar. 

Blake held her composure, or so Weiss thought, as Blake replied "Oh, no reason Ms. Xiao Long. I was merely curious. Forgive me for sounding so intrusive." 

'_**Your blush says otherwise.**_' Weiss wanted to say, but kept it to herself. Weiss simply smiled, as she has no problems with it, seeing, as she could possibly be gay as well. 

"Blake, I already told you, just call me Yang. A gal like me ain't too suited being called with such formality. I'm fine with being just called by my first name." Yang said as she pulled open the last door letting everyone in first before closing it. 

Before Blake could reply, her words drowned out by the barrage of music and the unexpected view of the bar from the inside. 

Weiss did not expect what she saw. From the outside, it looked like it was so desolate and shady. However, the inside looked extremely fancy. Glass pane walls with bright neon lights flashing the inside of the glass, thin miniature trees with red leaves decorated around the corners of the club, a large busy dance floor shined upon by huge spotlights. The bar on the right was brimming with people ordering expensive drinks displayed right on the glass shelves behind the bartenders. If she were to guess, Yang would be drooling if this were her first time visiting this place. 

"So what do ya guys think? Pretty cool huh?" Yang asked, looking directly at Weiss. 

"Is it still too late to change my mind?" Weiss replied, her brows furrowed once more. 

"You already said that." said Ruby. 

"I still don't like this." 

"Relax Weissy. Remember we're not here to party, we're here on a mission." Yang winked before moving towards the bar. 

"If it weren't for these two I would have. . ." muttered Weiss with an amused Blake and a sheepish Ruby following behind her as they went to join Yang, who was already leaning on the bar table, waiting for the bartender to notice her. 

"Sup Junior!" Yang called out to the rather large man of a bartender, wearing a white dress shirt with a black vest over it and a red tie, his black slacks and black shoes clean of any dirt. His face covered with beard and his eyes always fixed with a glare. When Junior saw who called out, Weiss swore she saw fear in his eyes for a split second before they changed to a more welcoming expression. 

"Blondie! What are you doing here?" Junior asked while wiping a martini glass clean with a towel. 

"Oh y'know, I'm here to discuss about the security we'll be doing." Yang beamed aloud making the man almost drop the glass he is holding. 

"Ey, that's supposed to be a secret! And who are those three behind you?" Junior asked with narrowed brows as Yang gesture behind her. 

"Well, I'm sure you've met my sister, Ruby. And these are Weiss Schnee and her er. . . What are you again?" Yang asked Blake as she stepped forward to the bar. 

"I'm Ms. Schnee's private Bodyguard." Blake bowed curtly, leaving them impressed for the polite gesture as Yang continued on with her introduction. 

"Right, and these two are with me as homework, kinda like they'll learn more about how everything works because they're also studying to be detectives." Yang smirked, a hand on her hip and a flip of her hair. 

"Why is a Schnee working as a detective?" asked Junior with a hint of disbelief as Weiss took offense to the statement. 

"What's **that** supposed to mean?" 

"Well, I wouldn't expect someone like you to be working for such a small pay such as police work, especially with how your family practically runs the entire city." 

"My family certainly does. In addition, with that kind of power, one can, let's say, make power disappear on a certain region for immeasurable amount of time. Moreover, one can claim to the police that certain businesses around that particular region are running an underground drug ring, whether true or false. Don't you agree?" Weiss replied with a sweet and kind smile as Junior nodded. 

"Now I don't I need to tell you that my business is strictly not yours to care now, is it?" Weiss asked once more, this time she got an answer. 

"Of course Ms. Schnee. Pardon me for my curiosity I was simply trying to get to know my customers better." Junior replied, as Yang tried to stifle a giggle from the exchange. 

"Good, glad we understood each other." Weiss smirked as Blake glanced to her with an impressed smile and even more so from Ruby. 

"Right, so Junior, where do you think we can talk about business here?" Yang carried on with the conversation, as Junior coughed and fixed his perfectly neat necktie. 

"We have the VIP area. I'll get it all set up. If you would all follow me." Junior said as he left the bar before stopping to talk to one of his men. "Make sure to tell Melanie and Militia to take over the bar for me while I handle things on the VIP area." The similarly dressed man nodded and scurried off to do what he was ordered to. 

"So the twins still work here huh?" Yang guessed, as Junior nodded. 

"Yeah, those two never left even after the beating you did to them last time." Junior grimaced as they stopped in front of a pair of black doors, with a number plaque right beside it, with silver "1" embedded in it. 

As soon as they stepped inside, Weiss was definitely convinced that the outside was just a front. There is no way that something this expensive would not catch the attention of any customer. The black glass tiles with golden lines run across throughout the whole room. The white couches that are fixed to the walls look extremely comfortable, despite the back pillows are made from genuine leather. The warm lights from the crystal chandelier make it feel like she's back at home. Not to mention the obsidian volcanic glass table sitting in the middle of the room, everything is just like how she liked it, lavish and expensive. 

'Please, feel free to sit down while I get us something to drink. What are your orders?" Junior asked, while pressing a button from a small screen with an extensive menu of drinks and snacks. 

"Eh, Strawberry Sunrise, with no ice. Oh, and with those little umbrellas." Yang lazily leaned back on her seat, resting her arms behind her head. 

"Can I have some milk?" Ruby murmured. Junior eyed her questionably but still took her order. 

"I will have some chamomile tea." Blake said, sitting straight as she could, despite making it hard to do so because of the soft cushions. 

"Any of you even order something normal. Y'know, something you can order in a **bar**?" Junior snapped, but apologized afterwards. "Sorry, just not used to these types of orders but, we'll manage. And for you, Ms. Schnee, what will it be?" 

"Uhm, do you have something with coffee? Preferably iced coffee." Weiss asked. Junior smiled, happy that he could get her something that is easy for them to get. 

"Yeah, we got it covered. Now let's just wait for our drinks." Junior said, before going over to sit across from the four women, clasping his hands together. 

"Alright, time to get down to business. I want to know why you need us, the police to be here and guard your bar?" Yang interrogated. 

Junior sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose, taking his time to answer. "It happened a few days ago. It was just an ordinary bar, nothing too unusual. Then smoke suddenly filled the entire bar! People were panicking, thinking it was some poisonous gas. Then all of a sudden, the spotlights focused on the center of the dance floor and the **thief** was there. She left us a note that she would return before bolting out of the bar. My men were tired the whole night trying to fix the mess she left." Junior finished as there was knocking on the door. Junior stood up to unlock it. 

"But that doesn't make any sense. Why would she go after you if she's not interested in money. Are you sure you're not hiding anything from me, Junior?" Yang warned Junior, who shook his head. 

"No, I've been going clean ever since you arrested me and my men." Junior opened the door and let the server in. 

"Interesting. . . Alright, we'll take your offer. But you should know that this isn't supposed to be legal." Yang proclaimed, confusing the man even more. 

"Okay, but how could we do this?" 

"Just call us at the precinct and say that the thief has been spotted near your place. We'll take care of the rest. And never mentioned what happened today. Got it, **Hei Xiong**?" Yang chuckled, but the threat still managed to get through to Junior. "Good, now please, let us have our drinks." 

"Uh. . . Yeah. This is my newest server, Camilia. Please, enjoy your orders." Junior gestured for the young woman to place down their orders. The strawberry blonde server had small dark spots on her face, like freckles. Her long hair tied back in a ponytail that reaches to her black pencil skirt. Her black vest covered her white dress shirt made her look similar to her boss, with the exception of the red necktie, which she wore a red bowtie instead. Her eyes were light gray with a bluish tint. Needless to say, she was pretty, perfect for someone who was catered to serve people with a pleasing attitude. She placed down Yang's drink, who took it and guzzled it down without any thoughts. Camilia then served Blake and Ruby's order with a soft smile on her face, like some sort of familiarity. Weiss was now definitely excited to be served with her order with someone so professional like her. Perhaps people in these places aren't so bad after all. 

Was what she wanted to say before she met the young server, whose face was glowering at her for a split second before 'accidentally ' spilling the iced coffee to her lap. 

"What the-!" Weiss cannot even comprehend what happened. Ruby immediately helped Weiss try to wipe of her jeans. Yang was dumbfounded to say something coherent, knowing Weiss' temper, especially when it comes to her personal stuff. Last time she messed up Weiss' clothes, she had to write a 500 word written apology letter about not running around with drinks in her hand. And that was a year ago. Blake's expression was unreadable, but quickly rushed to offer the two girls her handkerchief to wipe with. Junior was beyond embarrassed. 

"I'm very sorry Ms. Schnee! I will personally see to it that your clothes are cleaned!" Junior offered before scowling at Camilia, who looked expressionless before bowing and apologizing as well. 

"Yes, Ms. Schnee. I apologize for my mistake. I promise that it shall not happen again." Camilia said while bowing and holding on to the tray, before Junior pushed her to go out. 

Weiss sighed, knowing that what happened cannot be remedied so easily and just accepted that it is what it is. Ruby looked at her worriedly, before putting her at ease with a genuine smile. She would not let this get her very angry. Not in front of Ruby. 

"My employees are usually so professional and are dedicated on their work, so I apologize for this mistake. I take full responsibility." Junior this time, bowed at Weiss. 

"Well, you weren't kidding when you say they are dedicated. She did not spill any of the coffee on the ground nor the table." Weiss joked. Ruby and Blake smiled, glad that Weiss took it really well and not resort to anger. 

"Who are you and what have you done to Weiss Schnee?" Yang gasped, ruining the moment. 

"Oh shut it, Xiao Long." 

"Ohhh there you are." Yang chuckled. 

"I think it's time for us to leave." Ruby said, with everyone agreeing. 

After saying goodbye to the man, they went back on their way to the car, with Yang teasing the two bodyguards outside the door once more, before driving off. They stopped back at the academy and it was now near past 10 pm. 

"Welp, this is our stop. Me and Rubes will be able to get home from here. And thanks for giving us a ride, Weiss. Hope you learned something on interrogations. " Yang called out while walking to her motorcycle as Ruby waved off Weiss goodbye, with a small blush on her face. 

"Blake. I think it's time we head home and get some rest." Weiss said as she closed the car window, as the car slowly sped off to the mansion. 

"Not quite yet Weiss. I still need to give you a package from **Queen**." Blake smirked, keeping just below the speed limit. '_**A package?**_' Weiss thought before realizing what she meant. 

Upon arriving home, Blake guided Weiss to the backyard, which was covered by the massive walls. The air was so fresh because of the plants nearby. Not to mention the neatly trimmed grass making everything looks peaceful. Waiting on a table nearby was a small delicate looking box with marks of roses. '_**How did it get here without any of my staff wondering what it was?**_' 

"I made sure no one would go into the backyard before getting to you and Ruby earlier this day. I had to rush to get here as early as possible." Blake explained. 

"What is inside the box, Blake?" 

"Your lifeline and your most trusted companion as the **Red Rose Thief**." Blake exclaimed before opening the box to Weiss. 

A lone silver rapier rested on the velvet cloth that cushions the beautiful and intricate weapon. The hilt has four prongs that encase a revolver-like chamber and form as the hand guard. The six slots in the chamber carries special glass casings filled with what she presumed as dust. Within the package was mostly ice and fire dust, marked with the red and blue colored caps of the casings. With a single breath, she held the rapier and pulled it out of the case, and it felt so balanced for her. As if the maker knew what her preferences was when it comes to rapiers, and she was thankful for it. With an excited smile, she walked off further into the yard and did her basic fencing drills. Her thrusts were precise and she can keep attacking without feeling too much fatigue. Then she noticed a small mechanism. She looked over at Blake, who went over to her and gave her a small card on how to use her rapier. She looked on her rapier and saw a small trigger. As she slowly pulled the trigger, a hidden hammer slowly lifted out near the chamber. After she fully squeezed the trigger, a stream of dust shot out from the chamber and rushed to the tip of the rapier, and meeting with the air, slowly formed into ice crystals as the momentum kept the rapidly freezing dust shoot into the air and hitting the bush that instantly froze solid. 

"Woah, that was. . . Interesting." Weiss gushed over her new weapon. Blake simply smiled, watching at the spectacle of Weiss getting excited over her rapier. 

"I wonder how much I can do with these!" Weiss babbled, as she took on a stance and performed another thrust. As the tip of the rapier was about to hit her imaginary target, she perfectly timed the pull of her trigger as another flow of dust shot out. The added momentum from her thrust greatly increased the surface area of how the dust spread which was enough to freeze the wall where the dust hit. The wall now sparkled with the ice crystals, giving off visible cold air and onto the ground. Weiss also noticed her breathes became visible, not noticing how much colder it became. 

"Combining the motion of your attacks along with the dust will definitely change how the dust will react. So I suggest giving it a shot tomorrow so you can have more ideas and without much more interference." Blake beamed at her, whose cheeks were now rosy red. 

"But where are we going to practice? People might notice." Weiss asked worriedly as Blake simply chuckled. 

"I think it's time for you to learn where I live." Blake said with a small smirk.

* * *

**I'm so sorry this took so so so so so long. I've been busy with work and stuff. But hey, still writing. So for the next chapter, it'll be the heist and I hope I do well with it. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the story and see you on the next chapter. QueenFayne out.**


	7. Chapter 7

**_The following day. . ._**

* * *

Weiss wiped off a stray bead of sweat from her brow, careful not to lose her guard against her opponent, who was warily watching her movements. The two combatants decided to test one another with feints. Weiss took two steps forward before retreating when Blake tried to match her attack. Even with the help of her new weapon, using dust without any prior knowledge or care could result in hurting the both of them. '**_She did say that I could use dust_. . .**' Weiss contemplated for just a moment, losing her focus in the battle at hand.

Blake took the opportunity and dashed towards Weiss with the speed that could impress the nimble fencer herself. Gripping onto her machete, Blake took out a sword hidden inside the machete and used it to parry the rapier away from her, before taking a swipe at Weiss. With the rapier out of her hand, Weiss' eyes narrowed as she gained back focus. Weiss ducked down just in time to avoid Blake's attack, rolling towards the rapier on the floor. With her firm grip on the silver weapon, she moved with the grace of a dancer and the ferocity of a warrior, deflecting the two blades that tried to halt her attack. With the lighter weapon, it did not took long before the two weapons Blake carried were pointed away from her own body and soon, the tip of the rapier threatened to pierce through the cat faunus' neck as it stayed steadily in place. Blake raised her hands in defeat, before clapping her hands, as Weiss started to breathe heavily, the fight made her tired.

"I think it's safe to say that you'll do fine in tonight's heist, Weiss." Blake calmly said, as she handed the tired heiress a fresh towel and a bottle of water, which was taken with a murmured "Thank you." appreciatively as she sat down on the floor, no longer caring if it were dirty or not.

Weiss gulped down the refreshing water, coating the inside of her throat, letting small beads of water run down her bare neck. Good thing she decided to bring her gym outfit or her clothes would reek of sweat. Her white tank top clung onto her like second skin, her baggy jogging pants feeling slightly heavier. '**_Who am I to blame but myself_.** **_We've been sparring from 5 in the morning and now it's 8 am_.**'

With the bottle firmly closed and rather empty, Weiss took her time to observe Blake's "home", a large empty clean warehouse, red girders running along the entire warehouse, supporting the whole structure. On one end of the warehouse is a small corner with a large carpet and two wooden bookshelves filled with an assortment of genre of books. From romance to horror and even general science, the shelves have everything a bookworm could ask for. A rustic looking lamp, providing light for anyone wanting to read under its cozy light placed atop of a small wooden coffee table. Right beside the makeshift library is the kitchen, complete with a stove and a refrigerator; granite counters squeaky clean as the cold stone floor.

Weiss lazily glanced behind her, and saw a set of weights and different exercise equipment. From treadmills to a bench press, Blake was well equipped in keeping in shape, especially with her heists that needs to keep her on her toes. Near the gym was a set of tightly shut lockers. Each locker had a symbol marked on each door. She could not tell what those symbols are, but she might find out eventually.

With her neck getting stiff from an awkward position, she tilted her head and looked up at the ceiling, staring at a smaller looking house suspended up in the girders. She assumed that these must be where Blake sleeps as she found no bed or any mattress on the warehouse floor. She followed the small set of steel staircase and her eyes landed on Blake climbing up the stairs. Now that she had time to pay attention, Weiss simply stared at Blake with awe or rather, stared at her fit and undeniably attractive "chauffeur". She felt her cheeks burn up as she watched Blake lift her leg, her thigh muscles tensing up, made obvious by the skintight dark purple yoga pants the young woman wore. Weiss eyes trailed upwards from the thighs and catching sight of what she dubbed as the "Bellabooty". Her eyes moved up once more and saw the toned abdomen that she swore it dared her to keep staring.

'**_Not to mention that her chest looks so_. . .**' a stray thought came into her mind as she continued her gaze from the focus of her thoughts that was covered by a black sports bra, and landed on Blake's face. She never realized how mysterious her amber eyes looked like until she gazed at it. As if, it was captivating her. Her blush increased tenfold after realizing what it meant staring at Blake's eyes.

Weiss turned away from the smirking yet also blushing Blake. Without looking back, Weiss stammered an apology, "I'm sorry Blake, I didn't mean to stare. It was completely rude of me." and covered her face with her hands in embarrassment.

Blake simply chuckled, "It's okay Weiss, you didn't do anything bad. And I know that you're into girls, so in a way, I'm sorry if I'm making this difficult." reassured Blake, fixing a stray strand of her black hair, and tucked it behind her human ear.

"N-no that's fine and to be honest, I'm not really sure if I'm. . . You know." Weiss mumbled, finally shifting her gaze back at Blake, who was making her way towards Weiss, making her blush more but lowered her hands and clasped them together.

Blake sat cross-legged beside Weiss, stretching slightly, "You mean you're not sure if you're into girls?"

"I don't know, but can we please change the subject?" Blake winced at the request, afraid that she had offended Weiss.

"I'm sorry Weiss. But for what it's worth, I don't mind." Blake dispelled her worries, looking away again as Blake continued. "Because to be honest with you, I swing both ways."

"You mean you like boys and girls?" Weiss exclaimed, looking back once more, grabbing onto Blake's hands unconsciously.

Blake's eyes widen for a second before replying her answer, "Yes." Blake said, smiling genuinely as Weiss smiled back, her previous embarrassment gone.

"You know Blake, I never realized how much I don't know about you, yet I assume that you know almost everything about me." declared Weiss, pulling up her legs close to her chest and hugging them tightly while rocking back and forth slightly, "Care to share some stuff about you?"

Blake chuckled once more as she propped her arms behind her to a more comfortable position, "Alright, what do you want to know about me?"

Blake waited for a reply from Weiss, whom was frowning in thought, not really sure what she want to ask first, with so many questions to choose from. '**_But I suppose it's better to start by getting to know her personally_. . .**'

"Okay, what is there to know about Blake Belladonna?" Weiss prodded, placing the whole flow of conversation to Blake, who was in deep thought.

"Hmm. . . Well, my name is Blake Belladonna, born and raised in Menagerie located southeast of Remnant. Good start?" asked Blake, staring directly at the curious heiress, who simply nodded, urging her to continue, "Okay then, I mostly spent my time with the children back at home and I love reading. Back then, I thought the whole world was beautiful, and I guess I still do. But now. . ." she paused, taking a deep sigh, "I used to work as a barista, just so I can avoid working in the mines. I also started wearing my ribbon to hide my heritage." Blake lamented, with a small smile. Weiss lets go of her legs, letting them stretch out once more onto the floor, taking a much more serious stance, not fully expecting the sudden serious tone of the conversation.

"I'm sorry I brought it up, Blake. . ." Weiss' voice faltered. Blake raised her hands, trying to calm Weiss down.

"No, it's fine. I'm okay talking about my past, just remembering some precious times. That's all." reassured Blake, placing her hand on top of Weiss' own, "Then, I met two faunuses who were like me, trying to look for a place to live in and took them here." Blake smiled at the memory.

"Did they take the thief job on their own?" Weiss wondered aloud.

Blake nodded, "At first, I didn't want to get them involved. However, they interfered on one of my heists and now, we work as a team. All working for the one goal of liberation." resounded Blake, before standing up and holding up a hand to Weiss.

"And I'll be there to help you reach that goal." beamed Weiss, taking the outstretched hand and pulling herself up.

Before Weiss could stand with balance, an unexpected visitor interrupted the two by making his presence known. "**You?!** **You're the Red Rose Thief?!**" exploded by the visitor.

The sudden outburst surprised the two, causing them to get unbalanced and fall down. Weiss let out a small shriek, extending her arms out beneath her to catch herself, while the taller woman tried to catch and break her fall before Weiss hits the ground. Despite being able to catch Weiss, Blake's legs were tangled by Weiss' and were carried by heiress' weight.

After a small thud, the two opened their eyes and stared off each other. Blake managed to catch Weiss, but ended up leaning over her, with one leg raised up for support and the other kneeling down on the ground and her arms wrapped around the smaller woman's slim waist. Weiss on the other hand, fell on her behind, her arms dropped to the floor beneath her. All she could do was blush. Blush like the red coat she had been given. Perhaps even more than Ruby's red hoodie. Blake hesitated to let go, but was afraid of injuring Weiss further if she let go of her instantly. With a creeping blush, she set down Weiss carefully on the ground, before letting go and checking the bright red girl for any injuries.

"Weiss, are you okay?" Blake fretted over her, touching her legs ever so gently. Alarms rang out in Weiss' head, immediately crawling away from Blake, blushing from ear to ear and looking at everywhere but at Blake.

"I-I-I'm f-f-fi-fine-!" Weiss stammered out, forcing herself to stand straight, ignoring the lingering pain of the fall.

Blake's face relaxed before turning around to frown at the male guest, "Don't scare her like that again, Sun. And please knock before coming in here, I thought you were the police." The monkey faunus scratched the back of his head.

"Geez, sorry. . . I was just surprised that's all. And besides, I **am** the police heh." Sun smirked, placing his arms behind his head.

"So, mind filling me in on who he is?" Weiss questioned Blake.

Blake let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose, "Weiss, this is Sun Wukong, one of the faunuses that I told you about, and he is **Gambol**," she paused before gesturing Sun to Weiss, "And Sun, meet our new **Red**, Weiss Schnee. I'm sure you know her, right?"

"Yeah, I do, and I don't mind at all. Seems cool actually." shrugged Sun, intriguing Weiss.

"Why is that?" Weiss crossed her arms and leaned her entire weight on her right leg, letting the other stretched out comfortably.

"Welp, it's just that you're a Schnee and all. Not being rude or something, but we would never believe that a Schnee would help us." he explained, "That's why it's cool. Anyways, nice to meet ya, Red!" Sun beamed at Weiss with his hand outstretched.

Weiss stared at the hand, before staring at the blue eyes waiting for her to shake his hand, "Pleased to meet you too, Sun. And just call me Weiss." she smiled and shook the hand firmly. Sun's smile grew larger and cheered soon after.

"Okay you two, now introductions are done, let's get down to business, shall we?" Blake smirked before gesturing to the room upstairs, "Sun, do you have any info for us about the operation?"

"Yeah, I sure do!" Sun answered as the three climbed up the stairs. Blake opened the door and let them in before shutting the doors. The room looked larger from the outside, complete with a single bed, a bathroom covered by a thin shower curtain and a large wardrobe. Most of the space was occupied by a set of tables full of papers, blueprints and a few laptops. Pinned on the wall is a large map of Beacon City, with several red pins stuck on certain areas of the city, with small tags attached to the needles. Weiss took in the sight, trying to take in as much as she can. She glanced over to one of the tables and saw a folder marked with what she presumed a symbol of some sort of wing. Before she could look closer, Blake grabbed the folder, buried it beneath with a pile of other folders, took out a set of blueprints, and set it down on an empty table. The blueprint titled "Junior's" showed every nook and cranny about the bar.

"Here's the deal, we need to find any connections between Junior's and the SDC, as Junior has been arrested before for dealing with criminals and according to Shroud, an SDC marked vehicle has been seen parked nearby one night. So why would the SDC be seen near a place not particularly known for being on the right side of the law? That's what we're going to find out." Blake finished, marking a large circle around the bar's office, "Alright Sun, what do you got for us?" Blake inquired, her hands pressed down on the table, waiting for him to talk. Weiss stood beside Blake, looking at Sun.

"Okay, so y'know that Yang is the sergeant on this mission right? Well, turns out that she might not even go tonight. She told us that she's gonna let some guy named Jaune to lead the entire team. I don't know who this Jaune guy is, but that means the possibly biggest threat on this operation is gone!" Sun grinned, arms raised in an exaggerated fashion, waiting for any reaction from the two girls. When the two didn't say anything, Sun continued, "It means all we gotta deal with is Jaune, a few members of his troops and some other police guys. Isn't that great? It's perfect for your first heist, Weiss."

"Before we get to that, Weiss, do you know about who Jaune is?" Blake questioned Weiss, who looked a bit skeptical.

"Yes, He is one of my friends. I met all of them in the academy. However, they graduated first before Ruby and I. Jaune is very capable to lead on his own, especially with our other friends, Ren, Nora and Pyrrha. They are pretty much the best team of friends I've ever seen." Weiss explained. "But, since you said that Yang wouldn't be in the operation, then that means we just have to deal with the four of them. Of course we shouldn't forget about the other officers, but they are the ones we should focus on for now."

"Okay, what can you tell us about them?" Blake asked, as she and Sun waited patiently for Weiss to answer.

"Jaune is their leader; he'll be giving out orders to the rest of them to follow. However, his skills in combat are above average but nothing too exceptional to worry about. Ren is one of the best marksman I've ever seen, along with Pyrrha and Ruby, so we should worry about that. Nora on the other hand, is what I would describe as a complete wild card. She can be so. . . committed to what she plans to do, whatever the stakes. And on top of that, she wields a sledgehammer, along with a grenade launcher, but I doubt she'll use that during the heist so we should be fine." Weiss paused once more, putting on a serious look on her face.

Blake looked worried at her, "What about Pyrrha? Are you okay?" Blake asked.

"Oh, I'm fine, sorry about that," Weiss smiled before continuing, "Pyrrha is simply exceptional. Top marks on combat training, weapon handling, an accurate shot with a rifle and a strong woman. She'll probably be the biggest problem we'll have." she finished, looking at the two faunus. Blake was smiling, and Sun simply grinned.

"Weiss, don't you worry, we got this! When it comes to distractions, I'm your man!" Sun proudly claimed, with two fingers raised in a peace sign.

"Sun's right, Weiss. We will make sure that everything will go smoothly. In fact, I'll be involved with the heist directly." Blake reassured Weiss, who looked a bit nervous earlier, but now was all smiles.

"Alright then, I trust the both of you that you'll make this a success." Weiss effused. Blake approached Weiss, clasping at her hands.

"You have no idea how this means to us, Weiss. To me, especially, so thank you so much." Blake looked at Weiss with a small blush along with another genuine smile.

"D-don't mention it. Just don't forget that you need to help me with Ruby as well." Weiss stammered, blushing once more as Blake lets go of her hands and placed it behind her back.

"Of course." Blake smirked. The two unlikely allies to a criminal activity smiled at each other before she was interrupted once more by an obviously forced cough.

"Before you two get all mushy gushy, don't you think you two need a bath?" Sun cringed in a mock fashion, with a toothy grin. The two girls didn't take kindly to the joke, however. Blake glared at Sun, threw a random folder to his face and stormed off. Weiss on the other hand, face red with anger and embarrassment, shoved Sun out of the room.

"And I was starting to like you too." Weiss scowled before slamming the door on Sun's face.

"Aw c'mon you guys, I was just joking! I'm sorry!" Sun knocked on the door, but was ignored by the girls for the rest of the morning.

* * *

After spending the entire morning sparring and planning what to do on tonight's heist, Blake forced Weiss to take the entire afternoon to relax and rest, even though Weiss tried to help, but she taken home before she could even protest. With her phone on one hand, and the remote on the other, she forced herself to relax, watching a cooking show she had taken an interest to and gave short glances to her phone from time to time, waiting for something to do. Weiss let out a sigh, bored from the sudden lack of activity, '**_I'm a Schnee for god's sake_._ I have literally enough money to last me a few lifetimes and yet here I am, nothing to do_._ This is so unbecoming of me_.**' she chastised herself, before taking a more relaxed posture on her couch. Just as her head was about to hit the warm cushions, her phone vibrated on her hand, rousing her. She checked who had messaged her and found that it was Ruby. Letting out an involuntary squeal and blushing from embarrassment because of it, she calmed herself down and read the message.

"hey weiss, it's me, ruby and i was wondering if you wanna hangout for a while?" the message read with a couple smiling emojis at the end. A small smile flashed on her face before typing out a response.

"Hello Ruby. The answer to your question is a resounding yes. Where do you want to meet up?" Weiss contemplated on adding an emoji of her own, her finger hovering over the wide selection of them. Letting out another sigh, she chose the same smiling emoji Ruby used. Weiss attempted to place her phone but immediately got a reply.

"is it okay if we can meet up now? im actually right outside your house hehe." Ruby replied. Weiss' eyes widened and stood up from her couch and paced to the window that had the direct view of the gate. Opening the curtains, she noticed Ruby standing at the other end of the street, waving at her energetically. Weiss waved back with a smile, closed the curtains, and paced to the door to let Ruby in.

The two hugged each other in greeting, one that Weiss had to get used to for so many years, and laughed, "You dolt. You could have told me that you were already right outside." Weiss said as she let go of the slightly taller woman.

"Uh, I was just trying to make sure you weren't busy or anything, heh." Ruby admitted, rubbing the back of her head with a smile. Weiss rolled her eyes albeit with a growing smile.

"So, what do you plan to do?" Weiss lead her guest to the sofa she was sitting earlier, taking a seat next to Ruby.

"Hmm. . . It is a wonderful day today. Wanna go to the park for a bit?" Weiss perked up, but not wanting to make it seem obvious that she really want to go with her there.

"Alright, let's go. Wouldn't want to waste daylight." Weiss hummed, walking towards the door and holding it open.

"Jeez, Weiss, you didn't have to hold my hand to get me to go with you." Ruby breathed. out, with a small blush on her face. Weiss looked incredibly before scanning her arms down to her hands who were indeed clasping on Ruby's. Weiss immediately let go and faced outside

"I, uhm apologize for that. . . I didn-" before Weiss could finish her sentence, Ruby clasped her hand back on Weiss, wrapping her fingers around the shorter woman. Weiss was surprised and looked at Ruby's face.

"Hehe, don't worry, I don't mind at all. It feels nice to hold your hands. And I will always be here to warm your hands up if it gets cold." Ruby cooed the blushing woman, holding a blush on her own.

"Oh, uhm sorry. . . Has it always been cold every time you held it?" Weiss asked, pulling the door close.

"Yeah. . . But I don't mind! It's not like ice cold or anything, just chilly and stuff. But your skin is soft and uh. . . Yeah hehe." Ruby rubbed the back of her head once again, with a lopsided grin.

"You're such a dork." Weiss playfully scoffed, returning the smile and pulled on Ruby's hand, "Now come on already, the park is waiting for us."

"Hehehe, yes ma'am." said Ruby as the two girls walked to the park, happily talking about anything they thought of.

* * *

"How in the hell can you manage to eat those many hot dogs, Ruby?" Weiss fretted with a perplexed look on her face as she watched Ruby wolf down her 4th foot long hot dog sandwich in a matter of seconds. '**_No_,_ she didn't eat them_; **_**she inhaled those hot dogs like an animal**_**!**' her mind haywired trying to come up with an explanation to what she's seeing, or rather, what she had been seeing for years she's known the bottomless stomach she's come to known as Ruby. Weiss clutched on to her normal sized delicacy with a shaky hand as she shifted it away from Ruby, who was now drinking from a bottle of water as they sat on a bench beside the food truck that sold them the food.

"I mean, c'mon Weiss, I'm not as bad as Nora on a pancake craze! She can eat like an entire continent of pancakes in one sitting." Ruby tried to justify herself, taking a gulp before breathing again.

Weiss was still unconvinced, "Still, that doesn't explain where," Weiss gestured to the stacks of empty paper hotdog trays between them, "all of these had gone to." Weiss finished as she took small bites at her own food.

"I have a very fast metabolism. Plus, I need to grow more, so eating could help me get taller, alongside milk!" Ruby cheered as Weiss rolled her eyes.

"You know, with all of that junk food, it'll surely go somewhere else." Weiss teased Ruby, whose eyes went wide in shock.

"WEISS! ARE YOU TELLING ME I'M GETTING FAT?! AM I GETTING FAT, WEISS?! PLEASE TELL ME! LOOK AT ME AND TELL ME IF I AM GETTING FAT!" Ruby spluttered, gripping on to Weiss' shirt collar, shaking her silly.

"YO-U D-O-LT! ST-AY STI-LL SO I CAN S-EE!" Weiss struggled to say, prying off Ruby's fingers off, with Ruby mouthing an apology before straightening herself up for Weiss to get a better look at her. Ever since they've known each other, Weiss always found Ruby to be beautiful. Her innocent face, her bright silver eyes, her round face, her red lips and her surprisingly soft red tipped hair. She had always looked up at Ruby, literally. She became taller than she did in just a few months she had known the younger girl. Now, Weiss stared at Ruby, face getting redder and redder. Her body had indeed become muscular yet it remained feminine enough, despite hidden by the red hoodie. Her shapely fit legs could rival Blake's in Weiss' opinion. And the proof that Yang and Ruby are indeed siblings can be found on Ruby's chest.

"Weiss? Uh, you want to go somewhere else colder?" Ruby asked her with genuine concern for her.

'**Why does she sound so worried?**' she asked herself, "Uhm, no, I don't feel cold. Why do you ask?" her mouth felt wet. Ruby immediately fished for something on her jean pockets, took out a small red handkerchief, and handed it to her. Weiss' gently accepted the handkerchief before raising her brow in curiosity.

"Uh, your nose is kinda bleeding while you were staring at me so I was worried about you," replied sheepishly by Ruby, as Weiss slammed her nose to the cloth on her hand, graciously wiping the red liquid from her nose, '**SINCE WHEN DID I BECAME A GODDAMN PERVERT?! YOU IDIOT!**' her mind chided her while she made sure that no blood went to her food and her clothes. "So uhm, you okay now, right?" Ruby looked at her again with concern.

Weiss simply waved it off with an excuse, "I must have injured myself from something, sorry for worrying you, Ruby. Thank you."

"So can I still ask what you think about me?"

"Huh?" Weiss' widened in shock, wanting to make sure she heard Ruby correctly.

"Oh, I mean what you think if I am fat or not! Sorry. . ." corrected Ruby as soon as she realized what her previous sentence meant. Weiss' rapidly beating heart came to a slow stop, a little disappointed that she was wrong with her assumption.

"It's okay, Ruby. And to answer your question, you have indeed grown to be a beautiful woman," Weiss admitted with pure honesty, "I was just kidding about calling you fat, Ruby, so please don't take it seriously."

Ruby's faced beamed with happiness and couldn't stop fidgeting, "It's okay Weiss, I've known you for years so I know when you are joking. And th-thank you for calling me beautiful. You're beautiful too We-Weiss. . ." Ruby spluttered.

Weiss blushed, having a small fit of coughs, "Erm, right, th-thank you for the compliment, Ruby.", avoiding the look of happiness from Ruby, enjoying the small silent moment between them. Birds flying over perfect blue sky. A soft breeze blowing through the tree leaves rustling like an orchestra of nature, the gentle ray of sunshine peeking from the branches, leaving small shadows on the bright green grass. Weiss couldn't help but smile. Despite the cold façade she displayed to people, all she ever wanted was the warmth of the sun, and the sun being the friends and loved ones she's made for over the years, with one sitting right beside her. How she wished that every day were like this. But alas, they had to leave so soon. After all, she still had a job to do tonight, and she has to be prepared. As she was about to speak, Ruby's hand slowly crept up on top of hers, removing any semblance of thought on her mind.

"I'm really glad that you're here with me today, Weiss. I was kinda feeling down but at least now I'm much happier." Ruby admitted with a small blush on her cheeks and a lopsided smile. Weiss was curious, but she had a feeling she knew why.

"Ruby, can I ask why you hate her so much? I know that your mom was investigating a theft about the Red Rose Thief, but why are you so convinced on getting revenge on her?" Weiss asked cautiously, not to further upset the girl. Ruby did not seemed offended at all.

Ruby gave her hand a squeeze, smiling brighter, happy that someone was concerned about her, "She was a hero, my Mom. She was awarded by the police with countless medals and recognition for the cases she had solved with her partners, Uncle Qrow and Aunt Raven," she started, staring up at the sky, reminiscing, "Of course, I never knew much about them when they were all together, all I had were old pictures of them. But I'm happy that I still got Uncle Qrow to teach me a few things."

"Raven is Yang's mom, right?"

Ruby nodded, "Yeah, she left Dad and Yang after Mom died. Then Dad took me in soon after, so that's why me and Yang grew up super close." Ruby continued, watching a bird drop from the sky and perched up on a branch.

"But how is this related to the Red Rose Thief?" Weiss blurted out, before covering her mouth in shame, "Sorry. . ." she apologized immediately. Ruby shrugged it off.

"It's okay Weiss, I'm not mad. It's just I haven't really talked to you about this and you're my best friend for almost 5 years now," Ruby reassured her, "Anyways, after becoming one of the most talented detectives in the city, she had been hired by someone to hunt down the Red Rose Thief. She had been working on that case for years. . ." Ruby paused for a moment, making Weiss feel worried, "But after returning home one day, she was killed because of that case. Either someone didn't want her to find out about it or something, but she's gone now. All because of **her**." Ruby faced Weiss with steady eyes, full of conviction, but deep down there was something that Ruby was hiding. A small part of Weiss knew she was hiding about something.

'**_Maybe Blake knows about it. . . But enough of that for now, time to cheer up Little Miss_ Detective.'**

Weiss stood up from the bench, startling Ruby by her suddenness.

"Get up Ruby," Weiss declared with a knowing smirk on her face, taking Ruby's hand and pulling her up to her feet, "no time to dawdle. We're going to see that movie you've been wanting to see."

Ruby looked at her incredulously, "But you said that movie was - and I quote - 'Childish'."

"Well, time for you to prove me wrong." Weiss gave her a genuine smile as she took lead. Ruby breathlessly followed her as they ran out of the park and unto the streets. Giggling while avoiding the crowd as they made their way to the cinemas. Arriving at record time, Weiss went ahead and purchased their tickets for the movie Ruby 'demanded' they watched a week ago.

Ruby went back to Weiss with a large tub of popcorn and shoveling a handful into her mouth, "Whach mage woo wand chew watch Jog Wane?" Weiss scoffed with a hardly noticeable smirk.

"Ruby, you shouldn't talk with your mouth full," Weiss said as she presented their tickets to the staff who let them inside the dark but pleasantly chilly room, "and I just felt like doing so. Anything wrong with that?" Weiss continued, a bit bashful for this random gesture. Ruby put two and two together and gave Weiss the biggest smile she could give.

"Thank you Weiss, I really appreciate it." she said, giving Weiss' hand a gentle squeeze as they both took their seats.

Weiss blushed for another time, this time choosing not to hide her face, but simply scratched her cheek, "You're welcome, Ruby." she said as the movie began to play.

* * *

"That. Was. AWESOME!" Ruby exclaimed as she bounced up and down as they walked out of the cinemas, Weiss playfully shaking her head. Perhaps she should no longer question what goes on Ruby's head. Maybe that would be a saner option. "Can you believe that? It sent absolute chills down my spine! Man, they make horror that awesome." Ruby gushed once more. Weiss looked at her dumbfounded.

"_**That**_ was supposed to be a horror movie?" Weiss was flabbergasted. Ruby happily nodded.

"Yup, Dog Rain is a cult horror classic. I told you before that this was a remake. Can't you imagine how terrifying it is if that were to happen in real life?" Ruby beamed at the mortified heiress.

"Somehow, I'm more terrified of the people thinking that it was a horror movie, especially you."

"Hey, you were with me, you saw what happened. She didn't get to keep the puppies at the end. That was scary." Ruby chuckled, pulling her hoodie closer as they walked. They didn't notice how much time passed. They were inside a building after all. But the beautiful golden glow of the sun setting made up for it. "But you did have fun, right?" Ruby asked with a certain glimmer in her eyes and a pleased smile.

Weiss playfully scoffed, trying her best to avoid at the puppy dog eyes staring back at her, "It was a little fun." she smirked, brushing a stray tuft of hair behind her ear.

"What? Aw c'mon, I saw you back there earlier, you were having more than just a 'little fun'!" Ruby pouted, pointing her finger at Weiss as she struggled to keep her smile from spilling. In a way, she really did have fun. Watching Ruby fawning over the countless puppies on screen was enough to crush whatever form of boredom surfaced earlier as the movie played out. Despite the fact that it was indeed advertised as a horror movie, there was nothing scary about dogs and puppies raining from the sky. But if it made her happy, then why not.'_**And those puppies were indeed cute. . .**_'

"C'mon, admit it," Ruby poked Weiss' sides, a sudden wave of laughter almost got out of her pursed lips, "Pretty please?" Ruby whined out with her best set of puppy dog eyes. One that could easily sway the hearts of many. Not Weiss though. Those childish and wonderful eyes will not make her say she had fun. Even if she pout her kissable lips.

"Alright, fine, just stop pouting already. I had a lot of fun," Weiss admitted with fake annoyance and a growing smile on her lips. Of course she wouldn't say no to something as cute as that. Even if her mind was telling her that she should be able to resist, her heart was telling her otherwise.

"Good, hehe, I had fun too. We should do this more often sometimes." Ruby giggled cutely, "I mean as long as you're interested in hanging out with me a lot!"

"Well, of course I'm interested." Weiss paused for a moment, realizing the meaning behind her words, "I-I mean, I'm always interested in hanging out with you." '**_Thank goodness she didn't caught on to what that meant. . ._**'

"Hey, Weiss?"

"Is something wrong?"Weiss grabbed onto Ruby's shoulder, with Ruby reassures her with a smile.

"Oh no, everything's good, just want to make sure you're okay too."

"But I should be the one asking you that. . ."

"Weeellll, yeah, but I said it first so. . ."

Weiss sighed with a growing smile, "You really are a dolt sometimes, you know that right?" Ruby grinned back at her, took Weiss' hand and dragged her off into the night again, with Weiss giggling the rest of the way.

* * *

With the fun outing with Ruby already come and gone, Weiss felt a little bit better for tonight. Who wouldn't be nervous at this state. But Weiss had to go through with this. She made a promise to Blake. A promise to help to get the answers about what happened with Ruby's mother. Even if at first, she didn't even know why she went with this method. She could easily just wait until she became a legitimate detective and take matters into her own hands, but she already had messed with the law by helping Blake escape by pretending as the Red Rose Thief. Or maybe there's something else to it. But she couldn't think about it for now. '**_I've got to keep focus. Blake has already briefed me on what I should be doing, but am I up to the task_**_**?**__' _doubts running in her mind, her hands shaking in both excitement and nervousness. But all she could do right now is wait. With the rapier hidden beneath her coat, the hat covering her masked face with shadows cast by the bright light of the moon. A small beep rang from the earpiece she wore, with her gloved hand, she adjusted it better on her ear, with the word from Blake making her shiver, '_Get ready, Red. It's almost showtime._' and walked over the edge of the rooftop, staring intently at the open window that belonged to what seems to be the office, according from Blake and her acquaintances. "This better work. . ." Weiss said to herself looking down on the streets below and seeing the dozen police officers marching back and forth, waiting for her arrival. Her gaze wondered over to the line of people waiting to get in the bar. The declaration of the Red Rose Thief breaking in to the bar made the people want to see it in action, hence the sudden amount of patrons wanting to get in.

People wearing their best Saturday night outfits chattering excitedly, the police were even having a hard time to check everyone before letting them in. Of course, not everyone can be let in, but since the establishment was owned privately, all they can do is just inspect everyone and tried to make sure that everything is clear. 'The perfect distraction, everything is going according to plan.' A raven haired beauty whispered to herself as she wait for the doors to be opened for her. Casting a light wink at the guard, she managed to get in without any fuss. Wearing a black denim pencil skirt and a dark purple long sleeved sweater that barely covers her navel, she walks towards the bar, taking a seat at the recently vacant one and ordered a thing that the bartender doesn't seem to remember her, especially since she looked certainly different the last time she went here, no longer wearing her black suit and the ribbon, and adjusted her fedora on top of her head. Now, she wait for the next part of the plan.

* * *

"Alright guys, you all know your positions right?" Jaune asked his team, done explaining the plan to them and rolling up the blueprints he got from Junior. Pyrrha raised her hand, fiddling with the rifle she's carrying with her other hand.

"Uhm, we did get the plan, but, what's with our call signs?"Pyrrha asked with an uneasy laugh.

"Pyrrha, that was supposed to be cool, don't you want to have cool call signs when we apprehend the Red Rose Thief?'

"Duh, Leader, of course we think it's cool! But I think I should have the call sign 'Queen of the Castle, bringer of chaos and thunder'!" Nora piped up, standing up and planting her foot on top of the table, the sound of cracking wood can clearly be heard.

Ren stood up and dragged his partner off the table and made her sit, which she did, by sitting on his lap, "I don't think that call sign would work well, Nora." Ren explained, not bothering to remove Nora off him and patted the small of her back from time to time.

"Yeah, Nora, how am I supposed to say that really fast in an emergency."

"Pssh, it's easy! QUEENOFTHECASTLEBRINGEROFCHAOSANDTHUNDER!" Nora raised her arms, mimicking thunderclaps with her mouth. Pyrrha just smiled kindly at her and stood up, placing the rifle behind her.

"Well, 'Red Spear' is going to the spot now, will be waiting for you there Leader." Pyrrha waved at Jaune, before opening the door and stepping down, making sure that Jaune's eyes catch the subtle yet enticing sway of her hips. She'll have to thank Nora for teaching her that. The rest of the team takes note of Jaune's growing blush and steps out as well.

"Ohh, Leader's getting whipped, hehe!" said Nora, before jumping off of Ren's lap and ran out the door, her equipment banging on the side of the van. Ren stood up as well, picking up the set of sub machine guns he brought on the mission and placing them in the holsters on his waist.

"Y'know Ren, you're the only sane one in the team, that's why I treat you with such respect, 'Green Storm'." Jaune sighed out, picking up the custom made riot shield along with a police baton from the table.

"You're welcome Jaune," Ren smiled, stepping down the steps of the van and held the door open, "We know you enjoy getting whipped by Pyrrha, go get her afterwards, leader." and closed the door, leaving the flabbergasted Jaune to yell out at his team.

* * *

Blake drank her drink slowly, trying to make sure that she wouldn't end up drunk during the mission. All she needs is to blend in and waiting for the signal before she start to move. Fiddling with the phone in her hands, she tapped on the screen, trying to look distracted until the lights dimmed down. '_**Showtime.**_' before standing up as the music began to pick up. "Hey, hey, hey, good evening guys and gals! We just want everyone here to have a good time, and for that, our very own boss, Junior will be serving up the drinks tonight with half the prices! Everyone say thank you Junior!" the enthusiastic DJ announced to the cheering crowd, the others raising their glasses up as the owner of the bar walk down the stairs and made his way to the bar. Blake walked off to the restroom entrance just behind the stairs as the music picked up, going louder and louder, every people on the dance floor having a great time. She fiddled with a couple of wires on her pocket and connected it to her phone and a circuit behind her. '_**Everything's going according to plan.**__' _She darts her eyes from left to right, trying to see if no one's there to interrupt her, Blake tapped on her earpiece and heard it connect to Weiss'.

"Alright Red, Midnight is here, time to move," She greeted with amusement in her voice, "The music is loud enough, no one would hear you from the outside and Junior is tending the bars, so better move quick."

* * *

"Roger that, wish me luck." Weiss replied back, gazing once more at the open window she's supposed to jump from. While the distance between the rooftop she's currently standing in isn't that long, it was still a bit unnerving to her, as no one in their right mind would jump from the roof, land onto the thin fire escape railing and climb in the window, and yet here she is. Standing in the cold night with nothing else to do but jump. '_**Okay Weiss, you can do this. . . You got nothing to worry about, especially if everything goes well without a hitch.**__' _She told herself before making a few steps backwards and took off, using the small ledge of the roof as a platform and jumped, using the short training she got from Blake to keep herself from failing the jump, and grabbed on to the railing, planting her feet on the edge and climbed slowly up the window.

Stepping down the carpeted floor, Weiss didn't expect the office room to look so quaint looking than the whole bar. In the center of the room is a large wooden desk with a pile of neatly stacked unmarked folders on top, an old looking computer set, the monitor casting a dim glow over the black keyboard. 2 potted plants placed at the corner of the room right near the double doors leading down to a corridor hidden from view in the bar. A large dark green metal drawers standing right beside the window she climbed into. But the biggest thing to take into in the room was the large double sided mirror looking over the bar, giving her a clear view over everyone in the bar, jumping up and down in time with the beat of the music. Dozens of Junior's men walking aimlessly, carrying drinks and checking over the patrons, probably looking out for anyone suspicious.

"Alright, I'm in. I'm placing the flash drive in the computer and you can take it from there Midnight." Weiss said to Blake through the earpiece, striding over the desk pulling the leather chair slightly out of it, just enough space for her to slip in.

Taking out a small black flash drive, Weiss inserted it and Blake's voice came back to her ear, the loud music ringing out as well, '_Good work Red, now this might take a little while so why not take a look on the files there, but make sure that nothing will look out of place_.' Starting with the unmarked folders, Weiss flipped them open, dragging her gloved fingers over the edge. '_**Nothing but resumes, mostly for servers and bartenders.**_' Glancing at the drawers, Weiss made her way over, checking if there's any indication that can tell her the importance of those files. Weiss decided to start at the bottom, and saw that it was full of sheaves of papers, all about the establishments incomes and expenses. Opening the middle drawer, several books about drinks and bar tending greeted her, a thin layer of dust coat the hard cover of the books. '_**Seems like Junior no longer needs these books, he probably knows these like the back of his hand.**_' Letting out a small sigh, she closed the drawer and stood up, clasping on the top drawer handle.

The top drawer was filled with different folders, most of them marked with what they were, ranging from furniture, supplies and bills. One folder caught Weiss' attention, a light blue folder marked with three white letters "SDC". Weiss exhaled through her mouth, finding what she was sent to look for, but before she could open up and see the contents of the folder, Blake's voice came through the earpiece, voice slightly panicked, "_Red, grab the flash drive and get out of here through the window again!_" Weiss tried to speak back, but Blake continued on, '_We got nothing on the computer and instead, it triggered an alarm and they're coming for us, but at least you can escape. Remember, don't get caught!_' was the last thing Blake said before the audio cutting out, probably Blake getting rid of any more evidence. Weiss quickly hid the folder on her coat's hidden pocket, rolling the folder so it could fit and ran towards the window before stopping midway. '_**This doesn't feel right. . . I shouldn't leave her but. . . What can I do?**_' Weiss hesitated as a new voice came through the earpiece.

'_Red, you heard Midnight, time to leave! I'll be waitin for ya at the end of the alley so you better hurry._' Sun yelled out. Weiss walked right to the two sided mirror and noticed all of Junior's men rushing over to the discreet area near the restrooms, with Junior barking out orders, though drowned out by the loud music as the patrons kept dancing and socializing, not realizing the commotion going on. This gave Weiss an idea.

"Keep the engine running, I'm going to help her escape so wait for a few minutes for me." She said, unsheathing the rapier and pointed the tip at the glass and pulled the trigger. Icy blue dust shoot out, instantly chilling the two sided mirror. With the rapidly freezing temperature, Weiss could practically hear subtle cracking of glass as cold vapor almost cover the carpeted floor. Weiss stepped back a few steps, getting in a position.

'_Hey, you sure about this? This isn't the first time we got compromised and Shroud can still get to her, we need to get you out!_' Sun tried to stop her and Weiss even thought of it. '_**I could just run away and keep my hands clean of all of these. But. . .**_'

"Well I'm not going to let her take the fall when I could do something about it!" Weiss yelled out before sprinting towards the frosted glass, bringing her right arm in front of her eyes and leaped towards the weakened glass.

* * *

Blake was trying to think of a way to escape, wandering around the bar trying to surround herself with the people, trying her best to not get trapped by Junior's men, not until she can think of a way to get out. As the group of men got close to her, everyone's attention shifted to the loud sound of glass getting smashed, few of the women shrieked by the sound, as a sudden cool breeze spread down the floor. No one got hurt by the shards of glass, especially the figure with a stylish cavalier hat that fell down out of the office, before landing gracefully on top of the DJ's booth. A large grin came out of her lips, breathing a sigh of relief as everyone's eyes are on the infamous masked figure.

"Told you I'd return and I got what I came for, so time to bid you all adieu!" The Red Rose Thief tipped her hat and curtsied. The people recovered from their shock and came the mixed reactions. The armed men and Junior were shouting out to get her as the rest of the people are cheering, or rather glad to see that they got what they came here for. Most of them at least.

"WHAT ARE YOU ALL STANDING AROUND?! GET HER!" yelled Junior from the bar as the rest of his goons took out their machetes, that were hidden by who knows how and ran towards Weiss. The sudden commotion alerted the police stationed outside and stormed in, opening the doors as they ordered the patrons to leave. Blake took this opportunity to slip in with the crowd and Weiss knew it, this was her plan after all. '_**And now, the difficult part of my stupid plan, leaving alive.**_'

Weiss has never fought so many people at a time. Maybe her limit was three and that's when they were fighting fair. But looking over the goons and the police who wants her caught, through whatever means necessary was a very different case. But something she didn't realize was that she carelessly jumped off the table, lunging towards the nearest man after landing the jump, making sure to disarm the red machete from his hand and knock him out with the pommel of her rapier. Once the body dropped down to the floor, Weiss ducked and swept the leg of another and pulled the trigger of her rapier, freezing one of their legs, rendering him stuck to the floor. Adrenaline pumping through her veins, she surveyed the area quickly as she's allowed to, noticing that the only ones she fighting against right now are the black suited men while the police force were busy of making sure everyone got out safe. '_**Need to end this fast and get out before the police joins in!**_' Weiss determined as the thugs decided to go in at the same time, raising their machetes, intent to cut her down. Weiss flipped up to the air, raised her silver weapon with the tip pointing straight down. She thumb over a dial near the handle, as the mechanism made a click and a red mark showed up near the small dust barrel. As the momentum of gravity pulled her back down to earth, she made sure to squeeze the trigger light enough as a red dust shoot out to the tip, the gust of air pushing and making the dust spread to the floor, causing an explosion on the floor, weak enough to only incapacitate her attackers. The explosion did leave a small dent on the floor, as well as a black scorch mark, as Junior teared his hair off in anger, "YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO MY BAR!".

Weiss adjust her hat, making sure that her face was covered by the mask and the shadow cast by the brim of the hat, but also enough that it wouldn't obscure her vision. All of the men were down on the ground, groaning from having the wind knocked out of them. All of party goers were gone, and more officers start pouring in from the door, along with three familiar faces that was enough for Weiss to almost let out a curse.

"Alrightie musketeer wannabe, surrender or get your face full of lead and dust!" Nora proclaimed loudly, gripping tightly on a large sledgehammer with a huge grin on her face. Her partner simply sighed with his two SMGs trained on Weiss.

"Nora, just let me do the talking next time, okay?" Jaune walked with a small smile on his face, carrying the large plated riot shield with him and the police baton resting on his shoulders, "Alright, you heard the lady, surrender Red Rose Thief and face for your crimes. Now raise your hands slowly!" he ordered. Weiss did what he said, raised her right arm up above her head, slowly sheathed the sword beneath her coat and clasped her hands close and raised her left arm, "Arms raised, palms open. Now!" Ordered Jaune, raising his baton towards Weiss.

"Gladly." Weiss smirked, as she opened up her hands, three balls dropping from her left palm, exploding into a large puff of smoke as it hit the ground, obscuring the police officers' vision as she bolted off to go back up to the office to escape. As the officers try to chase after her, hearing Nora's thundering shout, a couple of bullets shooting through the smoke.

"Don't fire off bullets, use only when necessary!"ordered by Jaune through the commotion, three of her friends chasing after her as they ran through the smoke screen, as well as a few tenacious officers. '_**They deserve as much credit for putting up with**_ **this.**' A passing thought from Weiss, as she ran as fast as she can, vaulting over a few tables along the way. What she didn't account for was the owner, Junior to be as persistent like the trio.

Junior vaulted over the bar, and attempted to tackle her down to the ground, arms raised at his sides, "You're not going anywhere, punk!" He yelled out as he was a few meters away from reaching her. With the law fast on pursuit and an angry establishment owner in front of her, Weiss sprinted faster and used the momentum to slide on the floor. As she was sliding near the larger man's feet, Weiss grabbed on the red necktie hanging loose from his neck, pulled on it and used her feet to push him over her, causing him to fly a few meters up in the air, and right into her pursuers. Her friends wore a shocked look on their face as Junior came at them, wearing an even more shocked look on his face as they all collapse down on the ground, groaning in pain.

Not wanting to waste the opportunity, she bolted right back up the office and locked the double doors. Officers soon fired through the broken window, in hopes to scare her or possibly hit her, Weiss' doesn't know anymore at this point. Weiss ducked down on the floor as she crawled to the open window, avoiding the rubble caused by the pelting of bullets on the walls and ceiling. Swiftly climbing over the window and climbed up the railing and up to the roof top of the bar. Down below, she could hear the banging of the door she locked as she ran to the other side of the building, looking over to the edge to climb down to the lower part of the building. Seeing it was a few meters high, Weiss lowered herself to a ledge, and once she was confident that she can drop safely, she let go of her grip on the edge and bent her legs to absorb the fall.

'_Red! Can you hear me?!' _Blake's voice came through her earpiece, scaring Weiss momentarily by the sudden sound.

"I'm fine, I can hear you perfectly, Midnight! What's up?" Weiss smugly replied, taking a peek below the streets, seeing a mass of people running around going to their cars and the police trying to calm the ensuing chaos down.

'_Don't talk sass with me! You're insane, you could've gotten caught!_' Blake scolded her, before letting out a sigh and continuing, '_But I'm not gonna lie. . . That was a smart idea, and I guess I owe you for saving me._'

Weiss could see the smile Blake was wearing right now, "You're welcome Midnight, now tell me where to go so we can end the night, I'm right on the rooftop of the lower part of the building."

'_Go to the other end and climb down, we're waiting there hidden at the other end of the alleyway, see you soon Red._'

"Got it, on my way there now." Weiss replied back and proceeded to jog to the other end of the rooftop. Like the upper rooftop of the building, it was bare bones, made of concrete and bricks and dusty. A couple of air turbines placed on the end and a large roof access blocking a portion of the view of the city on the right, the door being obscured from her vision. The moment she got near to the end, a fist flung out from the other side of the roof access and knocked Weiss off her feet and landed at the floor.

"Sooo, you do got accomplices. '**Midnight**' sounds like an awesome name as well!" the attacker said casually as if talking to a close friend, but Weiss knew that voice, as well as the strength that came with the punch, "But here we are, me giving you a chance to surrender before I punch your cute nose, '**Red**'. Stay down for me~!" taunted Yang, before slipping on a pair of large brass knuckles from her pocket, a pair of sawed off shotguns strapped neatly behind her back. '**_Why is Yang here?!_**'

With Weiss lying on the floor, she tried to sweep Yang's legs, but Yang stepped back and avoided the attack, "Ohh, you're a spunky one aren't ya?" Yang let out a small laugh before raising her leg, aiming for Weiss' stomach. Weiss rolled out of the way and quickly stood up and took out her weapon once again and readied her stance, "Now that's more like it Red, give me plenty more reasons to bash your face in before I arrest you!" Yang shouted before rushing towards Weiss, arms raised in front of her face and swaying from side to side. Weiss has sparred against Yang previous times back in the academy, and she never once won against her when it comes to hand-to-hand combat. And this time, it would be no different now that Yang's is prepared to go all out, especially against her sister's mortal enemy,the Red Rose Thief. '_**I can't hurt her, but what can I do?!**_' Weiss internally panicked, her eyes following Yang's approach, thinking of ways to get out of this situation.

As soon as Yang was within punching distance, she threw out a haymaker, directed to Weiss' head. Weiss parried the punch with the flat of her blade, rolling out to the side to gain more distance between them, but Yang had other plans. The parry didn't stop Yang's assault as she followed Weiss with one-two combo. Weiss took the jab to the chest and felt her ribs almost crack, used the momentum to roll away from the wall of punches coming her way. Weiss raised her blade and retaliated by lunging just at the right distance and took a slash at Yang with the flat side of the rapier, hitting her right thigh and then followed the attack with another swipe at Yang's arm. The attack did nothing to faze the blonde brawler and just smirked at her. Despite her size, Yang moved quickly and stepped in front of Weiss' face and bashed her with her shoulder, knocking the rapier out of her hand. Weiss won't go down easily, and grabbed Yang's arm and threw Yang over her shoulder, exactly like what Ruby did to her a few days ago. But this was a mistake on her end as she forgot that it was Yang who taught Ruby the throw.

Yang bent her legs as she was about to hit the floor and planted her feet firmly on the ground. She twisted her body and grabbed the collar of Weiss' coat and threw her instead and slammed her down the ground again. Weiss could only let out a gasp of pain, knocking the wind in her lungs out. Yang was panting gleefully, happy to beat the thief to submission, "That was some good throw you got there, but you can't just do that to me, remember that next time. As if there'll be a next time, hehe." taunted Yang once more, before pulling out a walkie-talkie and pressed a button, "Hey there Jaune-y boy, I've got Red over here on the roof, time to bring her in. Your plan worked after all!"

'_Glad to hear that, Sergeant, will be on our way._' replied Jaune as the static clicked from the device. Yang pulled out a pair of handcuffs and slowly approached Weiss. '_**Guess this is the end of it. . . I'm sorry. . . Ruby.**__'_

Weiss' eyes slowly closed, her wig still placed neatly on her head, but the hat right beside her rapier, accepted her current demise. Until she heard a guttural groan and a sound of electricity, forcing her to look up what was happening. At the ground, Yang lying face-down on the ground, unconscious as a familiar blonde standing over her, with a weapon that looked like a rapier but with no edges, but segmented lines. Bright sparks of electricity sparking at the tip of the weapon before being strapped behind her savior. The strawberry blonde server sighed out and placed her fingertips near her left ear, "Red has been rescued, will carry her down there, so you can relax now, Midnight." Weiss heard the girl say, as well as through her earpiece.

"You look like you could use some help there, Schnee." Camilia said with a hidden venom in her voice. '_**Geez, what's her problem. . .**_' Weiss wanted to retort but has no energy left to talk back and simply nodded weakly at the girl. Camilia's glare softened and as gently as she could, picked up Weiss and carried her over her shoulder, placing the hat back on Weiss' head and and carried the rapier on her other hand. "Guess I got to thank you for saving Blake earlier, and sorry for the hostile behavior from earlier, we can talk about it once you've got some rest." Camilia spoke to her, without the hostility from earlier.

"Tha-thank you, Camilia. . ." Weiss replied weakly, as the girl shrugged.

"Just call me Shroud, or Ilia, whichever you prefer." Ilia gave her a curt smile and walked slowly to the emergency exit at the end of the building. Weiss smiled back and set her gaze at the other view of the city. Who would've thought that she would end up attacking her friends, commit crimes and get beaten all at the same night. Weiss set her mind that once she gets better, she'll ask their help for training if she plans to continue this nonsense she got herself into. But despite on what happened, she can't shake a certain feeling. It could be the adrenaline, or the idea of being able to help her friends with getting the justice they deserved, she felt like it was one of the best nights she ever had. '_**Through this, I could finally get back at Father. .**_** .**' She thought and sighed.

Her gaze caught a glint of light from across the building, and saw a figure crouched over at the edge. Before she could take a good look at the figure, she felt a sharp pain on her shoulder and a loud gunshot and felt suddenly sleepy. Before losing her consciousness, she heard Ilia's voice of concern as Sun came up to them and picked her up. And then everything was black.

* * *

Jaune, Ren and Nora stood over the stretcher where Yang was getting checked for any injuries she got from the fight, looking really pissed off from what happened, "That damned **Red Rose Thief**!" Yang banged her fist on the stretcher, her co-workers barely flinching at the outburst, feeling the same anger about the current mission, "But I gotta admit, they got us real good. Who would've thought that they had everything planned."

"Yeah, we had the trouble of getting everyone out safely before we could step in and arrest her the moment she appeared inside the bar." Jaune agreed, patting the back of Ren and Nora, who were both silent, but nodded in agreement.

"Welp, can't do nothing about it now, we'll just catch her when the next chance we get," Yang sighed out and let out a small smile, "anyways, where's P-Money at?"

Nora pipped in and answered "That's what were waiting for now. We heard the sound of her rifle firing so maybe she killed Red?" Nora said rather enthusiastically.

"Nora, le-let's hope that she didn't do that okay?" Jaune nervously laughed, before his eyes frowned when a group of medics rushed towards them, carrying a stretcher with Pyrrha on it. "**Pyrrha! Is she okay?!**" yelled out Jaune to the medics.

"She's fine sir, she was knocked out and one of the residents on the building climbed up when they heard the gunshot and called us. We found her lying on the ground with her rifle far away from her." one of the medic politely said. Yang, Ren and Nora comforted Jaune and he calmed down to the best of his abilities, as Pyrrha let out a cough and slowly opened her eyes, "P-Pyr-Pyrrha, are you okay? Are you hurt? Who did this to you?" Jaune asked a bunch of question as Pyrrha lifted her finger towards her boyfriend's lips, making a small shushing sound and made a smile.

"I'm fine Jaune, I was just put to sleep by someone." she reassured before continuing with a frown, "I was watching from the building and saw Yang taking down the Red Rose Thief. As soon as that happened, someone approached me from behind and placed a handkerchief on my face, laced with Chloroform I believe." Pyrrha finished.

"Ya think it's one of Red's pals?" Yang asked, with Pyrrha shaking no.

"If they were, you would be injured with a gunshot wound, Yang. I think that they were out to get Red." Pyrrha explained, making the rest of them even more confused.

"Someone's out to kill Red. . . I think this might be more than just a silly Robin Hood scheme." Yang said, with everyone silently agreeing with her.

* * *

_**Later that evening. . .**_

A hooded figure walked down the alleyways near the bar, with a small skip on their step, making turns randomly and ended up in an empty warehouse where a bunch of men standing guard with rifles on their hands, as they let the hooded person in. The figure skipped deeper inside the dusty warehouse where countless metal cargo placed around the building. A lone man standing nonchalantly in front pf a table with a map of Beacon and a pile of Lien scattered around the table. The ginger haired man raised his black bowler hat with his black cane, the cigar burning brightly on his lips.

"So, how was our little guest doing?" The man asked the hooded figure. The figure mimicked an action of shooting a rifle out of thin air, making the man smile viciously, "Is she dead?" the man asked once more. The figure shook their head, "Perfect, that's the plan, Neo. Take some rest and some ice cream while you're at it. Excellent job as always." The man tipped his hat. The figure snapped their finger and skipped away from the man, who turned around and stared down at the map, chuckling to himself, "Time to see what you do this time, little **Red**."and tossed the lit cigar on the floor, before slamming the end of his cane on the lit part of the cigar and crushed the fire out.

* * *

**Hey everyone, it's been a while. I hope that everyone stayed safe during these times. Anyways, I should probably explain what took so long. While I was writing these stories, I had a partner who helped me thought of the ideas on what I should do, but just recently, that partner left me and I spent most of these days alone and lonely. But I'm getting better now and I'd still continue with these as I possibly can. I hope you guys don't mind, but I'll do my best to get these out. Welp, here's the heist I've promised before and hope it's good. See you on the next chapters or story I come up with. Queen Fayne out!**


	8. Chapter 8

Weiss felt that her body was tired, but warm. '_**When did I fell asleep?**_' Weiss thought to herself, feeling herself wake up from the deep slumber. Suddenly, memories of the heist came back to her. The time she broke through the window, the time she knocked down those thugs, the time she kicked a man towards her friends, the time she got bodied by Yang on the rooftop. And her body remembered the time a bullet grazed her shoulder, feeling the stinging pain.

Weiss jolted wide awake, rather too quickly as the pain on her right shoulder got magnified, causing her to quickly touch her wound, but felt a bandage instead of flesh. Weiss was so surprised that she just noticed that it was morning already, took a guess that it was around 7 or 8, based from how bright the light shined from a window. Weiss quickly looked down and saw that she was wearing a shirt twice larger than her size, making it look like she's wearing a night gown. A small rising panic filled her body, realizing that she wasn't in her room. Weiss scanned the room she was in, seeing a dozen tables placed around near the walls, lying on top were books, folders and a couple of laptops. Her eyes quickly shifted over to the shower curtain, hearing sounds of dripping water from behind the thin material, as well as a silhouette. Weiss calmed down when she figured out that she was simply in Blake's room, meaning that she was saved from the attack last night. Weiss let out a small sigh of relief, letting her shoulders slack and lay back down on the bed, waiting for Blake so she could thank her properly.

* * *

Blake felt her shoulders relax, feeling the warm water dripping down from the shower head, taking her time to massage out the tangles in her hair with her fingers. Then she slowly rubbed the tips of her sensitive feline ears, feeling the fuzzy fur and can't help but let out a small sigh. Content with simply letting the warm water wash over her body, she took the time to think about what happened during the heist. Everything was supposed to go smoothly, especially since Ilia confirmed to her that the security of the computer Junior used was almost made to be broken in, but somehow, an alarm rang out and notified Junior that someone was hacking into his system. Not only that, they were able to pinpoint on where exactly the hacker was. Sh can't help but think that maybe, just maybe, the heist was a trap for the Red Rose Thief. '_**Weiss will get into a mess she's not prepared to face if I don't find out who wanted Red dead.**_' Blake thought, feeling the water cold against her skin, sighed and shut the water off and stepped out of the shower, not bothering to close the shower curtain again. Water dripping down the floor, Blake made her way to the wardrobe. She pulled out a pair of underwear that was the most comfortable for her to wear, after all, she'll be doing investigations soon. Blake took out a bath towel, intending to dry herself off before putting anything on. Starting from the legs, she patted the water dry and slowly reached all the way to her face. Satisfied, Blake pulled the wet towel off her face intending to let it dry on the hook on her wardrobe, until she noticed the pair of icy blue eyes wide open as they stared back at her amber ones. Her gaze focused on the bright red face, whose mouth was quivering as if trying to say something. Blake's face flushed red, realizing the situation they're in, before grabbing her clothes and the moist towel and ran back to the bathroom and pulled the shower curtain close.

* * *

"So. . . How's your shoulder?" Blake asked tentatively, a small tinge of red spread across her face, holding on to her cup of chamomile tea. Weiss looked everywhere but Blake's direction, sipping her own cup of tea. In all honesty, Weiss felt mostly okay. Despite getting punched in the ribs with a brass knuckled powered punch from Yang, she was lucky to survive with nothing but a bruise and the wound on her shoulder won't end up with a scar, thanks to the medicinal dust her family had developed over the years. And since the shot was just a graze. Now that she thinks about it, they both needed to talk about the heist.

"I'm feeling okay Blake, really," Weiss reassured her, staring at the swirling dark water in her cup, taking a deep breath and enjoying the relaxing scent, "However, I do want to know what exactly happened with last night's heist. Will you tell me?"

Blake straightened herself, trying to forget about the embarrassment from earlier and instead focus on the subject. She took a sip of her tea and then explained what she knows, "First, the folder you got from the heist was perfect, while it doesn't say anything about any corrupt dealings with the SDC, it does establish a connection between Junior and them. The SDC often hires Junior's men in exchange for shipment of the finest Ice Dust, I assume used for the drinks being served there," Blake stood up and quickly grabbed the folder from another table and set it down in front of Weiss, "What I couldn't find out from this is what the SDC did with the hired thugs, as they're fired after the SDC were done with them, stated right here," Blake pointed her finger one a line of sentence, "So what I'll do is to send Sun or Ilia to track down some of these men and make them confess on what they were told to do."

"I see," Weiss nodded, trying to absorb the information as she can, trying to come up with her own theories as to why, "Did we ever found out what Jaune's plan actually was?"

"Yes, the plan was only between your group of friends, to avoid leaking information. Jaune, Nora, Ren and the rest of the officers are tasked with sealing all exits on the ground, leading the only way to get out is through the rooftops. What they didn't expect was the amount of party goers who decided to enter, and made it difficult for them to enter once you showed up," Blake paused and placed her hand on Weiss' arm, making her to look at Blake, "Which I never got to thank you properly for saving me. Thank you, Weiss." Blake smiled and held a loose grip on Weiss.

"You don't have to thank me, if I were in that same situation, you would've done the same for me." Weiss felt the warm touch of Blake and held her eyes on her and gave her a smile. Weiss also noticed that Blake's cheeks had the smallest tint of red again.

"A-anyways, Pyrrha was stationed on top of the building right across the bar, armed with a rifle to prevent you from harming Yang, who was there to personally take you down in case the first team didn't capture you."

"Well I guess that explains the gunshot wound. Pyrrha is such a great shot that she didn't end up killing me." Weiss nonchalantly said, as Blake shook her head and continued her explanation.

"That's the thing Weiss, Pyrrha was. . . Not the one who shot you, but rather, Pyrrha was knocked out the whole time Yang was fighting you," Weiss' expression quickly shifted from shock to anger in just a few seconds, but before Weiss could say something, "But don't worry, she's okay. She wasn't hurt in anyway, just put to sleep with Chloroform." reassured Blake, but that didn't put to Weiss at ease, something Blake expected.

"Then who did those to her? Who shot me?" Weiss glared, Blake only sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"For now, I don't know, Weiss. That's why I'm going to ask you to stop and never speak of this again." Blake said, raising her eyes to meet Weiss' own.

"What?! You want me to just leave this whole thing and stop being the Thief?! My friends almost got hurt, I was almost murdered, I can't just let this go!"

"Yes, Weiss. It's for your own safety. I can't expect you to die for something like this!" Blake countered back, firm with her words, which Weiss flinched slightly. But when she thought that Weiss would agree, Blake's eyes went wide when Weiss stood up instead and faced her.

"Blake Belladonna, when I first agreed to do this, I knew the consequences that would come from this. I knew it could ruin my whole reputation, my entire life. I accepted this because I want- no I need to find out what happened with Ruby and her mom, since my father has been involved and it's up to me to clean up the mess." Weiss pointed at the dark haired woman. Blake tried to make another response, but Weiss shushed her as she continued, "And now, since whoever we're dealing with are starting to involve my friends, I can't just simply sit and give up!" Weiss paused for a moment, letting out a sigh to calm herself before sitting back down, "I chose to be a detective so I could help people, because no matter what I do, I can't change what my **father** did by just simply idling by and waiting for him to step down. Something has to be done **now**."

Blake didn't know what to say, completely silent and just watched Weiss calm herself down. But she knew that she can't convince to stop and leave. But Weiss spoke once more, this time in a much lighthearted tone, "And I kinda had fun being on the other side of the law. It was fun rebelling against the rules I was always ordered to follow."

Blake sighed again, before placing her hand on top of Weiss', "Alright, I won't stop you. . . But I'll make sure that you won't get into trouble like last time, which means, we'll need to prepare you for the worst, and more stuff to help you out. So you better prepare yourself for more combat training from me and the rest."

Weiss was so happy that Blake agreed and promised to get her to be better. She suddenly hugged Blake, surprising the cat faunus and getting her to blush, "Thanks Blake, I really really want to do this. . ." and snuggled closer to Blake's neck. Blake flinched, her cat ears stood up straight, not used to the affection she's getting from Weiss.

Weiss soon realized what she did and pulled back, face redder than it has ever been, trying to act calm as she possibly can. Weiss picked up her cup of coffee and raised it up to her lips, the constant shaking causing small splashes on the table and sipped loudly as she could. '**Why did I just do that?! IDIOT!**'

Blake slowly stood up, face flush red as well. She cleared her throat before walking towards the door, "Al-alright, you should go on ahead and take a shower, I'll be back with your clothes that I brought for you so we can get you back home. . ."

"Pe-per-perfect, thanks Blake." Weiss answered back without looking at Blake's reddened face. But before she could leave the room, Weiss immediately remembered something she wanted to ask, "Oh dust, Blake what about the blood that came from my wound?! Wouldn't Yang and the others find it on the roof?!" Weiss panicked, but Blake looked calm and shook her head.

"You don't need to worry, since the wound wasn't deep, the blood was completely absorbed by your clothes last night, and Ilia made sure to check if there was anything left on the roof. So you're fine." Weiss' calmed down for a moment, before asking another question, the redness in her face deepening.

"Speaking of which. . . Who changed me out of my clothes. . ." Weiss couldn't see Blake's reaction, but looking at the cat ears on top of her head, she could tell she was flustered once more, judging by the small twitches of the ears.

"I. . . I did. . . Just, get some shower, we'll talk later!" Blake ran out of the door, and made sure to close it, no longer wanting to talk about the awkwardness the two women experienced.

* * *

After the long and silent ride back to the manor, Weiss immediately went to ask for a quick breakfast from her servants, who were shocked to see her arrive from the door unexpectedly. Weiss wanted to invite Blake for breakfast as well, but Blake declined, wanting to go somewhere in a hurry, leaving Weiss alone, eating sunny side eggs with toast. As much as she wanted to go with Blake to help with whatever she needs to do, she really needed time to rest. And she'll need to check up on her friends, but she still hasn't thought of a way to do it without being suspicious. Stabbing the lone toast with her fork, Weiss sighed and picked up the small remote control and pressed the button to let the television slide down from the ceiling, to watch the recent news. As she suspected, it was about the heist last night. And this time, she could watch it without any interruptions. Hopefully.

'**Good morning again good people of Vale, this is Lisa Lavender, reporting live in the city hall of Beacon, where the wanted criminal, the Red Rose Thief has struck again, targeting a rather popular bar called "Junior's. According to the Beacon Police, the reason why the thief went there was still unknown as they're still currently investigating, but according to Captain Winchester, there's nothing to worry about, as he'll personally catch the thief soon.**'

Weiss scoffed and rolled her eyes, knowing how much of a egotistical man Winchester was, even before they had the unpleasant meeting back in the academy. He learned soon not to touch the young heiress, especially if pinching was not asked or allowed. Her eyes were glued to the screen as more news came, '**Following that, there's been rumors that a new captain will soon take over command in Beacon, as per the request of the mayor,**' Then a car arrive, which countless reporters flocked towards to, as a woman step out of the car, her presence was enough to impress the entire masses with her authority. Despite having the same white hair as Weiss, she wasn't related to the Schnees at all. Her fair almost pale skin looked smooth and her light blue eyes were captivating and seemed to give her a wise look, as if she's been through a lot of events and knows a lot for a woman her age. Her hair was styled in a half up-done bun style, a remainder of her long straight bangs almost covering her left eye. She wore a black pencil skirt that reached to her knees, a cream collared blouse with a weird looking symbol necklace and wore a matching jacket. The reporters tried not to shove their microphones to her, asking questions left and right, '**Ms. Salem, we were wondering what your opinion is over the matter of the Red Rose Thief, any thoughts?**'

Salem paused for a moment, her eyes closing, and answered, '**I am sure that all of us were feeling the fear that we are all unsafe in these times,**' opening her eyes and gave everyone a small smile, '**But I can assure to the people of Beacon that they have nothing to fear, for they'll not let it ruin this great city, and I'll make sure that when Captain Ozpin steps in, changes will be made, that would be all, thank you.**' Salem ended and walked up the stairs, other reporters trying to follow her. Weiss tuned out after that, no longer caring as to what the news said.

'_**So Captain Ozpin will be the new captain soon, no idea if that'll be any good for me, but at least it would be good for everyone else in the force. Glad to see that Winchester gets replaced.**_' Weiss thought to herself, finishing her toast and left the empty plate on the table. Turning off the television and watching it rise back to the ceiling, Weiss was about to make her way to her room when a door bell rang in the front door. Not bothered of waiting for someone else to answer it, she made her way to the door and peeked to see who it was, but surprised to see no one. She opened the door and scanned the surroundings, "Hello? Anyone here?" Weiss yelled out, hoping to get some answers. Just as she was just about to close the door, convinced that it was probably some kids playing pranks, she noticed a black feather on the floor near her door. She picked it up and saw that it the feather of a raven. She examined it and saw that at the tips of the feather were colored red. Red like roses. Weiss was busy thinking about how the feather got there and almost didn't realize the new person sitting on her couch. Weiss yelped out in surprise, as the stranger sat comfortably, legs on top of one another, and their hands crossed. Their black and red dress covered a pair of black shorts, a belt wrapped around their waist, along with a black coat with red feathers that hung from behind her. Dark red armored gauntlets were wrapped around the stranger's forearm, with small dents and cuts, as if they've seen battle countless times. The mid-thigh high leggings with red splatter patterns and black heels completed the look, which was menacing and dangerous, not mentioning the mask they wore. It was similar to a plague doctor's mask, with all of it mostly black. A large symbol of a red rose adorned the top center of the mask, right on top of where the forehead should be, and dozens of black raven feathers protruded out from the top seam of the mask, all the way to the back of their head. The masked stranger merely tilted their head sideways, unnerving Weiss even more.

"Wh-Who the hell are you and what're you doing in my house?!" Weiss raised her voice, determined to get some answers. The stranger simply stood up, not bothered by the heiress' loud voice before replying in a cold tone.

"So. . . You're the current **Red Rose Thief**? I'm a bit disappointed, but the **Queen** was okay with it, so I guess I should to." the stranger said, scrutinizing Weiss from top to bottom, making her even more uncomfortable, but wasn't as suspicious of the stranger, knowing that this must be one of the thieves Blake told her about before. Weiss also picked out that the voice was from a woman, but couldn't say if she was familiar with the voice, but the height did give her a feeling as if she was talking to someone she know. Preferably blonde.

"You're part of the group the Red Rose Thief is into right? Why and what are you doing here? Did **Midnight** sent you?"

"**Midnight?**" the woman asked, not understanding what she meant, "Oh, you must mean the Faunus girl who was previously the thief. No, I came here to take you."

"Take me? Take me where exactly? And how should I trust you?" Weiss backed away slightly, giving her the best glare she could give, as the stranger walked slowly towards her, her gloved hand on the tip of the mask and pulled it off, leaving Weiss' mouth agape and eyes wide.

"Because the **Queen **wants to speak with you, little girl. And we need to talk." said the woman, with a pair of red eyes, and raven black hair.

* * *

"Great, I have to go check up on the little princess. . ." Ilia complained to no one in particular, walking down the street and into Weiss' house, her strawberry blonde hair blowing with her pace. Not bothering of waiting for someone else to open the gates for her, she opened it herself, and was soon on the steps and infront of the door, knocking loudly. She paused, hearing nobody coming to open it, Ilia tried again and this time, pushed the doorbell. As the tune rang out, she expected to hear some scuffle inside, but she heard nothing. Ilia sighed and looked down, noticing that she stepped on a feather. Her eyes widened and closed her it shut, making her trip a waste. Perhaps she could come back soon, after all, the heiress was not at home at the moment. She does wonder where and what happened to Weiss' servants, but before she could think of an answer, a voice called out for her attention.

"Oh excuse me, you're the girl from Junior's, right?" the cheery voice was almost annoying, but she couldn't careless, since they're human. Ilia turned around saw Ruby, walking up to the door as well, "I'm guessing you're here to apologize to Weiss after what happened the other night huh? Welp, we could both go in, since I was planning on hanging out with Weiss, but it's up to you hehe. . ." Ruby awkwardly asked, rubbing the back of her head.

"Ms. Weiss isn't here at the moment, I was just knocking and her servants said she left just a while ago. I guess I'll come back later. Good day to you, Ms. Ruby." Ilia said as she walked away and back into the streets. Ruby didn't even get to say goodbye and just waved at Ilia, who didn't waved back. Ruby sighed and was about to walk away too, until she noticed the same feather on the ground. Her eyes narrowed, and her silver eyes glanced around the streets. She sighed and picked up the feather and shoved it inside the pocket of her hoodie. She'll come back another time for Weiss.

* * *

**Alrightie, another chapter done, gonna admit that this has nothing much at all except probably a bunch of cliffhangers but couldn't help but write it down. Anyways, hope it wasn't too confusing, still trying to get back into the groove of writing after the long "vacation" but I hope you all enjoy. Tune in for the next chapters! Queen Fayne out!**


	9. Chapter 9

Walking down the area of the city where countless faunuses lived was a hard thing to do, especially when you're a Schnee, who was know for rumors of unfair treatment to their faunus forces, as Blake told her before. Weiss swore that when they were walking down the streets and onto the outskirts of the city, she saw glaring eyes directed towards her, but backed off when they saw the stranger walking with her, which made her think just how important or strong the masked woman was, or was there something else going on here? That's also why she wanted to help Blake, it was one of her objectives when she manages to get a seat of power in the Schnee Dust Corporation. But for now, her questions now lie on who would've thought that an abandoned train station just outside the city is where Weiss would spend her afternoon. Definitely not her, meekly following the taller masked woman as they walked on the rusted railways, the abandoned train carts serving as reminder on how long they stood the test of time, overgrown grass and creeping vines taking hostage of the metal walls and bars. Good thing she decided to wear her trekking boots, having expected that she would walk somewhere not good for her expensive outfits. Weiss maybe a thief by night, but it's not bad to have standards. If she wore her good heels on the uneven gravel, it would be ruined. '_**And by then, I wouldn't have anything good to wear when I'm with Ruby. . .**_' Weiss thought to herself, mumbling as she almost tripped on a loose piece of rock.

The taller woman turned her head to face Weiss, whose face was red from almost falling over. She could feel the cold glare the woman was giving her, but Weiss was glad she didn't do anything else. The raven haired woman faced forward once more and led Weiss to a wall covered by hanging vines from a nearby tree. This made Weiss wonder why the city would make a train station near woods on the foot of a mountain. Weiss was about to ask why they were here, before the woman continued to walk towards the wall and disappeared into the veil of vines. Weiss stood still, not sure what to do, before a hand reaches out to her, "Follow me." Weiss cautiously reached out to the hand, before it pulled her into the vines as well. She braced herself and closed her eyes as the woman guided her through the plants until the woman let her go. She opened her eyes and Weiss was awestruck.

Her icicle blue eyes adjusted first to the sudden darkness in the tunnel, but what she saw at the end, was a paradise. A small clearing that was covered by the naturally formed cliffs of the mountain that formed a wall, dozens of flowers and beautiful berry bushes were in display, the golden rays of the sun shining down on them as a miniature rainbow formed from the spray of mist from the nearby waterfall. The neat cobblestone walkway didn't detract the small garden of the embodiment of spring time. Weiss couldn't help but let out a large smile and breathe the fresh air that she wouldn't be able to find in the city. The woman paid no mind to her who continued her way down the path, as Weiss hurried jogged to keep up with her, while her head glanced to the beautiful nature around her. The woman removed her mask and kept it on her waist, letting her pale face bask in the sunlight as well, as Weiss managed to get a good look at the woman. She definitely looked younger than what she truly is, but her expression was always of seriousness. It reminded her of her own sister, Winter. But now that she took a deeper look into her companion, she began to realize that she looked like Yang. Except for the hair color and eyes. The ravenette turned her head to her again, a voice devoid of any amusement, "You of all people should know that it is rude to stare."

Weiss was taken aback, but managed to answer back, "I'm sorry, it's just that, you remind me of my friend. You two looked exactly alike." Weiss admitted, enough to satisfy the woman's question. Weiss gave herself more time to think and came to a conclusion, "Wait a minute, you're Raven aren't you?" Weiss noticed the way the woman's shoulders tensed up, but she kept on walking, "You're Raven Branwen. You're Yang's mom. Am I correct?"puzzled Weiss. She's known Yang long enough that she knows that Yang has always been looking for her mother that ran away as soon as she was born. She didn't expect that she of all people would find her.

"Yes, I am," Raven's voice was firm, intent on making Weiss stop with the questions. After a few minutes of silence, she sighed, "I know she's your friend but this is a complicated issue and I'd wish you to stay out of it. Do you understand?" Raven looked at her with pleading eyes, the aura of animosity was gone. Weiss was surprised but nodded her head, not wanting to offend the woman any further. Soon enough they were already on the way to another clearing, but this time was obscured by the lush green trees and the shade was just enough to provide a gentle cover from the sun. What made Weiss gasp was the large mansion hidden in this clearing. The white brick walls towered over them, thick but clear glass windows show glimpses of the inside. The grey roof was littered with dry twigs and leaves, but because of the slight breeze, they never fell down in front of the house, but rather somewhere behind it. The edges of the winding cobblestone path were planted with many flowers, including her two favorites, myrtles and roses. As the two approached the looming mansion, Weiss spotted a figure in one of the windows, another cloaked figure, but before she could ask, she almost jumped in surprise when she bumped into Raven. Raven gave her a short glare, before opening the door inside and let Weiss walk in first. The foyer definitely looked as grand as it was outside, clean white walls, with dark ebony wood floors. The light birch-wood tables and coat hangers were as pristine. The rose red carpet laid down on the corridors and up the stairs into the upper floor. The crystal chandelier hang above them glistening from the lights.

"Hey Schnee, wait here and don't move," Raven suddenly said, calling Weiss' attention back to her, "I'll come get you when it's time to meet them."

"Meet whom?" Who's they?" Weiss asked, but was ignored by Raven, who walked down a short corridor and walked into the room, which she assumed was the dinning room, based on the long table Weiss saw for moment before the doors were closed. Weiss let out a sigh, closing her eyes and rubbing her temples with her thumbs. Now that she had a few minutes alone with her thoughts, she continued where she left off, thinking on the faunuses living on the outskirts of the city. Those people weren't as fortunate enough like Blake to find well paying jobs, aside from her work as the wanted criminal. These faunuses were the ones who were forced to work in the company, as labor forces. The more that she thinks about it, the more scarier the reality is; she was being too optimistic with the idea of helping others.

These past few days were hectic. In just that short amount of time, she met a lot of people, almost got shot by Ruby, committed a crime that could imprison her for life, get bodied by Yang and get shot in the same day. And now, she's being integrated to a secret cabal of criminals all to help a friend who may or may not have feelings for her. "Who am I kidding, this is just a fantasy for me, I shouldn't even be here. . ." Weiss began to doubt herself, pacing around the foyer. Despite all of the bravado she shown Blake and the rest, she can't help but feel powerless from time to time. Especially now she got hurt. What if this time, she gets killed? All she had was being lucky that there was someone to help her, or being in the right place at the right time. Being alone with her thoughts does wonders to her overthinking mind.

While she was musing, she heard a door open at the opposite corridor of the one Raven entered. Weiss turned to it and saw a cloak disappearing further into the dark blue hallway. Weiss listened for Raven, wondering if she's coming back already. Deciding that a little peek wouldn't hurt, she sauntered to the dark blue corridor, leading to large hallway with massive paintings. Despite the whole room dim because of the curtain covered windows, it was bright enough for her to see that details of the oil paintings.

"Hey, you're the new one right?" A voice suddenly said from behind Weiss, causing her to shriek in surprise.

"Geez, you scared me!" Weiss squeaked, her hand pressed on her chest, calming her beating heart. Weiss tried to sound upset, but was more worried that Raven heard her scream. But was put in ease by the hooded stranger.

"You don't have to worry about Raven hearing you. This mansion is larger than it seems." a woman's voice came from the hood, but the dimness of the room was obscuring their face with the shadow of their hood. Even whatever clothing the stranger wore was covered by their red cloak. '_**At least she's much nicer than Raven. .**_** .**' Weiss thought to herself, calming herself. She turned to the paintings once more to see six portraits, with a small table placed underneath them, with a few trinkets and vases with roses. Three of the paintings were covered by a white sheet of cloth, and the other three showed a colored silhouette, each holding a weapon. The third from the left bear an uncanny resemblance to Raven, the black and red dress was a clear sign. The new thing that she saw in the painting was Raven's weapon of choice, which was a long red katana, with a strange looking scabbard. Engraved on the frame were the words "The Third". On the small desk under the painting were a single vase with a red rose, thorns left unclipped and a single raven feather. Weiss looked over to the painting next to it, which had the description of "The Fourth". Underneath the oil painting, was the same desk with a single porcelain snowflake ornament, with a vase full of white roses, held together by a red ribbon. Weiss looked up at the silhouette, which held a pose similar to a fencer's stance. There were other things that looked similar, especially with the outfit. The silhouette wore a white cavalier hat, with a white feather plume that gradients to red at the end, fastened by the same rose pin she had. The white corset vest, black blouse and muted red ankle-length tailcoat with white lace trimmings gave the impression of a snow angel, if it weren't for the two blades held by the dark haired silhouette. The long basket-hilted rapier held by their right hand and a shorter parrying dagger held by their left, the silver scabbards held in place on their hips with black leather belts. The only other difference between their outfits was the color palette and the one in the painting wore white leather pants with thigh high combat boots. And the two white feathers fastened on the coat's right breast pocket. Just as she was about to look into the other painting, Weiss' perceptive eyes caught sight of a smaller oval shaped painting hiding behind the vase. When she took a peek, all she saw was a mark, a small gear inside a large gear, almost like clockwork and covered by a wing. The stranger took note of her curiosity and helped her out, "The smaller paintings were their partners, as I'm sure you could guess, the large ones are the Red Rose Thieves that came before you. Including little ol' Raven."

"I see, thank you, Ms. . ." Weiss words wondered off, waiting for the hooded woman to say something, but the woman shook her head and grabbed on to Weiss' hand and dragged her lightly back outside of the room, "Hey wait! I still haven't seen the other paintings!" Weiss protested, before the woman shushed her and gently pushed her outside the door.

Before pulling the doors closed, she whispered to Weiss, "All in due time, I'm really sorry to cut this short but Raven will come back in any second now and we both don't want to get on her bad side," the woman tilted her head slightly, the hood being offset slightly on their head, just enough to see the woman's smile, sending chills down Weiss' spine for some unknown reason, an unnerving sense of something. Before Weiss could figure out _what_ it was the woman continued on, "Just make sure not to mention that I showed you any of this and we _never met_, okay? It was nice meeting you,** Snow Angel **Weiss Schnee." the woman chuckled before softly closing the door, making Weiss wonder how in the world did the woman knew her name. '_**And what was with that nickname, Snow Angel? Especially with the way she emphasized that word. . .**__' _

Before Weiss could continue with her musings, Raven came back from the other room and paced up to her, almost catching her off guard. "Hey, what are you doing there?" Raven accused her, almost scaring Weiss half to death, as Raven walked pass her and check on the doors that led to the room Weiss was in. Raven tested the door handles, gave them a rough twist to see if they'd budge. But Weiss almost sighed loudly when they both heard the telltale sign of the locks from the doors. Raven's face was also immediately calmer, but still demanded answers, which Weiss was happy to provide.

"I was just pacing around, it's been a rough couple of days and I'm beginning to think that I may have bitten more than I could chew." admitted Weiss without holding back. Raven was almost impressed, giving a curt nod and walked back towards her.

"I know what you mean. I've been in your shoes as well, but I need you to understand that this isn't just some dumb plot against a corporate. The rest of us have spent a lot of years trying to fight back and help the ones oppressed by your father's crimes," Weiss winced from the blunt truth, "And the reason why I brought you here, is to test your resolve and loyalty to the cause. I want to know why you chose to be here." added by Raven, putting Weiss at ease. But it still left a lot of questions for Weiss, what made Raven join this group, who the hooded stranger was and if she should mention it, and last of all, what is her true desire being a Red Rose Thief. Giving Weiss more than enough time for her words to sink in, she guided her once more to follow her into the dining room. But what Weiss didn't expect was that they weren't staying at the dining room at all. The wooden mahogany table was decorated with silverware, ranging from chalices to the spoons and forks. The red table runner had rose petal prints on them, as if they were glowing thanks to its reflective threads and the light given by the special candles made of tiny fire dust crystals held in place by gold candle holders. There wasn't anything out of place in the large dining hall, except for maybe the lack of sunlight, as all the windows were covered by the same curtains she saw on the other room. As they reached the end of the room, Raven held the door open for Weiss as they made their way to a smaller room with two doors on two ends. On one of those doors, she could hear a man and a woman quarreling, their voices peaking and echoing from the room. Raven groaned in frustration, her palm raised to her face for a moment before brushing up her hair out of her face. "I swear, leave those two for a few minutes and they're already at each other's throats. . ."

Weiss was about to stifle an embarrassed laugh, before realizing those two voices sounded familiar, especially the woman's voice.

A loud thump of a book hitting a wall echoed, "I swear for the last time, I'll rip your tongue off, you drunkard!" the woman's cold voice, a gut wrenching feeling in the pit of Weiss' stomach, with each passing second the voice being more familiar as a rush of memories surface from her mind.

"Oh don't bother, **Snowbird**, the only reason why I'm being like this is because I missed you." the slurred voice of the man made Weiss recall the time when she first encountered Ruby's uncle.

"Well, time for you to meet the rest of the team, Weiss." Raven said, holding the door handle, readying to pull open the door, "Meet the Rose Bouquet." and Raven pulled the door open, revealing the two arguing people in the study room, their mouths pressed with each other, their arms wrapped around their necks and pressed close. Weiss wanted to rip her eyes out right at that moment. This wasn't happening.

The man was Qrow, the mentioned detective uncle of Ruby, who wore the same outfit she saw him that fateful night. The woman whom Qrow was kissing was one of the only people in the world whom she held the greatest respects and idolized. But that image would forever be tarnished as to what she saw. The white Atlesian coat given to all detectives there were rumpled, but still kept it's pristine look. The white collared undershirt had a few buttons unbuttoned, the necktie covered by the red brooch was loose. The dark blue pants with a matching pair of boots were clean and Weiss thanked the gods above, that it wasn't wrinkled. The woman's slanted blue eyes was wide in surprise from the sudden opening of the door, pushing off Qrow, whom was chuckling in amusement. The embarrassed woman did her best to fix her hair in a pony tail, after deciding not to do her alabaster hair in a bun and placed her hands behind her back, assuming her most comfortable position confront the shame.

The blushing woman cleared her throat and leveled her gaze to red faced Weiss, "It's pleasant to see you again, sister." greeted by Winter, while Qrow struggled not to laugh hard, earning a harsh glare from the elder Schnee. Raven groaned once more, rubbing her temples with her thumbs, murmuring something along the lines of killing her brother and Winter for the embarrassing things they did. Weiss was vexed, as she thought that her sister, whom was very strict and doesn't take nonsense from anyone would date an uncouth _scoundrel_. But then again, there were plenty of things she never knew. '_**But for now, might as well try to get a **_**_concussion and forget that image._**' The last sound she heard before succumbing to the pleasant sleep was Winter screaming bloody murder at her, as Raven caught her.

". . . What do you think Father would say if he found out you're dating _him_?" asked Weiss to her sister, as she lie on the soft sofa in the study after she came to from her blackout that lasted around a few minutes after what she saw. Her sister let out a soft chuckle, teasingly flicked her finger on Weiss' forehead. Weiss rubbed the sore spot with her thumb and pouted at her sister.

Winter glared and shook her head, "You shouldn't pout like a child, Weiss, you're an adult now, don't make faces."

Weiss smirked, "Says the woman who was yelling like a child before kissing someone she supposedly hates like a kindergartner." she countered.

"Touché," Winter replied, "but, don't think you're off the hook yet, Weiss." Winter frowned, crossing her arms before finishing, "I'm sure you have questions as well. But, as much as I'd like to give them all, I'm afraid you'll have to wait for what **Queen** has to say to you. Do you think you're ready to stand up?"

"Just let me know one thing, Winter," questioned with faltered resolve, afraid of Winter would entertain her, Weiss mentally prepared for the rejection. But once she got the reassuring smile and nod from her dear sister, Weiss continued, "You were the Red Rose Thief before, am I right?"

"Yes, Weiss. I was a Red Rose Thief for quite a long time," Winter admitted, as Weiss looked directly at her eyes to see any lies and found none. "And there's a lot more you should know now that you've been invited to be one."

* * *

Blake spent her whole afternoon trying to find any semblance of clue as to who attacked them during the heist. Seeing as the police still haven't finished the investigations with Junior's, she only got a chance to look around where the sniper was, the apartment where Pyrrha was stationed last night. While it would be suspicious to randomly enter an apartment building and run up to the rooftop, she used her skills to get to her destination by jumping from one rooftop to another. Living a rough life, Blake was glad she learned parkour at such an early age. Back when she was a member of the Wh-

'_Midnight, there's something you should know._' the voice of Ilia brought back Blake to focus, placing her finger closer to the small earpiece to hear her clearer, '_I went down to Red's place and seems like the Rose __Bouquet had beaten me first. Y'know what that means right?_'

"Yeah, she'll finally be brought up to speed, meaning we don't have to hide much of the information to her now." Blake replied, eyeing the rooftop but saw nothing useful, not even a strand of hair that she can use to track Weiss' assailant down.

'_Don't you think that we should tell her the other thing as well? She's bound to find out eventually since she wants to find out what happened with Ruby's mom. . ._' Ilia trailed off.

"No." Blake's voice raised, "She doesn't need to learn that part, but let me handle that part and you do yours, is that clear?" Blake chastised, making her point clear.

_'Understood, I won't judge your decisions._'

Blake sighed, and said nothing more. Deciding that her investigation was useless, she gave up with another sigh and decided to climb down the emergency exit ladder. Before she took her steps, she noticed that there were a layer of dirt and dust on the ladder steps, but there were also marks that there were lighter layers, as if someone used it to climb down. Blake carefully followed down the steps, placing her hands and feet on where it was cleaner than what the steps should be. Halfway down, Blake turned her head around and from where she was, she saw a couple of Junior's men walking in the alleyways, heading for away from the club. Finding it suspicious, she hurriedly climb down and followed the two men by hiding in the shadows cast by the taller buildings. Ducking in between the large trash bins, she saw a large warehouse conveniently placed in between various buildings where the rest of Junior's thugs patrolled the area. This made her think back on the file Weiss managed to get from the heist, but what is important with this warehouse that thugs are used to guard the place. Blake took a few photos and made her way back away from the warehouse and onto the streets before she gets caught. '_**At least now, I have a lead to figure out this whole mess. .**_ .' Blake thought to herself as she blended with the rest of the crowd, going on through their day.

* * *

"Weiss Schnee, I'd like to welcome you, _again_, to the **Rose Bouquet**, the group compromised by the inner members of the Red Rose Thief heists. Before anything else, I'd like to introduce what we name ourselves in the group." Raven said, before Weiss raised her hand for a question.

"Is this about the nicknames? May I know why we do that?"

"It's easy, kid. The nicknames are used so we can distinguish ourselves from each other's way of going about things, and as well as a way to protect ourselves just in case people are listening during heists." Qrow answered, taking a drink from his hip flask.

"My brother is right, it's tradition." Raven added, before pointing to herself, "You may call me as **Queen**, the one who provides orders for everyone around here. Which includes your friend, **Midnight**."

"I am known as **Snowbird**. And may partner for my heists is. . ." Winter paused for moment, gesturing to Qrow, who looked as if he was caught with his hand in a cookie jar, holding his flask in midair and almost choked the dark orange liquid that filled it, "Qrow Branwen, who goes by the code name, **Harbinger**." Qrow gave Weiss a lousy salute, as he went back to drink.

"As I'm sure your partner has told you, we are committed in taking down the CEO of Schnee Dust Corporation, your father, Jacques Schnee. We want to reveal the horrible things he's done and make him pay for his crimes." Raven said, her hand forming a fist for emphasis, "And we'll do anything in our power to make that a reality."

"But, before we go any further, Weiss, tell us, what made you choose to be the Red Rose Thief?" asked by Winter, her voice had the faintest hint of worry.

"Well. . . At first, it wasn't something I chose to do. It was just a few days ago when I received the clothes you sent me," Weiss explained, pausing briefly to remember what happened for the past few days, "Ruby and I were with our friends for a birthday celebration and when I was trying out the clothes, the alarm from the bank rang out and I immediately rushed to see if Ruby was alright. That's where I found out about Blake being the Red Rose Thief."

"And then you rescued Ruby by pretending that you're the thief to fool the attackers. But, you didn't know about my niece's hatred for her." Raven finished, "We know all about it since I was the one who sent you those clothes. I made your sister sign them." Raven admitted, looking at the other two adults. Qrow shrugged his shoulders, focusing fully on his drink as Winter sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"I couldn't believe you managed to convince me to let you do that. She's my sister after all and I wasn't going to allow her to be in danger."

"Sorry Winter. Orders are orders. All for the success of our mission. I'm sure you haven't forgotten what we do here."

"Of course not, that's why we're here." Winter looked at Weiss, as if waiting for an answer.

"Why are all looking at me like that?" Weiss questioned the three conspirators, getting a bit pissed off as if she's being judged by their eyes. Qrow put down his drink and placed his hands in his pockets. Raven smirked at her viciously, approaching the younger woman with the same aura as before. Winter on the other hand, had an aura that Weiss can't explain, but all she felt was that as if Winter was waiting for something, her eyes were focused on Raven and her.

"Because your answer will tell us if you wish to continue to be the Red Rose Thief," Raven said as if it's a matter of fact, "And if you wish you won't, you don't have to worry about spilling any secrets, or else, _**I know where you live, Schnee**__." _Raven let the threat roll off the tip of her tongue, Weiss noticed that Winter was a bit agitated but said nothing else.

That's when Qrow stepped in before the situation escalated further. Despite the two being teammates, Winter's relationship with Weiss could mean a big fight between them because of Raven's approach to things. "Look kid, I just want to know one thing straight, I know you care about my niece very very much, so please, let us know what you really want."

_**'What**** I really want?' **_those words echoed in Weiss' head, pieces of memories flashing by until she remembered what scared her in the first place. "I've known Ruby for such a long time," Weiss starter, gathering the attention of the three thieves, "It's thanks to her, I've changed for the better. I used to be a terrible person, a loner who pushed everyone away just because they weren't like me; a Schnee. And she made me better. So when I saw her eyes, the hatred that filled those silver eyes. . . All I saw was pain, the pain that was caused by the Red Rose Thief that led to the death of her mom. . . So like I said to Blake, I wanted to be a detective because I want to help people, I believe the truth should always matter, and if this is the only way I can get close to the truth, then so be it. I accept being the Red Rose Thief, and the danger it comes with so I can put Ruby's demons to rest and stop whoever wanted me dead before they could harm any of my other friends." declared Weiss with a resolve she never knew she held. Raven gave her a scrutinizing gaze, before letting out a small laugh and an applause.

"Very well, I admire your resolve, hey Winter, your sister is really just like you. So drop that huge glare at me and let's get to business." Raven casually teased, walking away to the door. But before she left, Raven looked back, her hand on the door knob, "But before we could fully welcome you, there's one task you need to do. My brother and Winter will brief you on that. Good luck to you." she ended as she left the room with a quiet sound of the door closing.

"That's Raven for ya. Always letting others take the fall for her." Qrow commented, before tossing Weiss a folder. The folder was the same one she got from Junior's last night, "Thanks to that, we found out that the Schnee Dust Corp are hiring thugs from Hei Xiong, but like we found out, the moment they were hired, they were immediately fired but never returned to their old employer. We want you to find out why. And it has to be today." Qrow explained, "I have a few reasons to believe that this has to do with the man named Roman Torchwick, you need to get this information out of Xiong."

"You'll have to go back to Hei Xiong to interrogate him, but it'll be completely up to you." Winter chimed in, "Would you rather approach Mr. Xiong as yourself, Weiss Schnee, a budding young detective, or as the Red Rose Thief. Keep in mind that the reputation of those two identities aren't the same. But fret not, we'll make sure that you won't get into trouble. I'll personally make it so." Winter added, glaring at Qrow for approval, who only gave her a nod.

"Wait, who's Roman Torchwick?" Weiss interrupted before the two kept going without her knowing any useful info.

"He's a well known entrepreneur of some sorts here in Beacon. In reality, he's a crime lord who runs scams on businesses like dust shops and book stores. One of the biggest businesses he owns is 'Torch-Quick Energy Drinks', that may or may not be deadly to your health," Winter explained before glaring at Qrow once again. "Something someone should worry about."

"But what does this have to do with him?"

"Our father had business ties with Torchwick before and I fear that they are conspiring with one another. That's what you'll find out. Now let's go and prepare together." Winter said walking off before being stopped by Weiss.

"No need, I think I want to prove myself on my own." Weiss said, Winter looking at her curiously with one brow raised. Weiss took this as a sign to explain, "If I'm going to do this, there won't always be help around, I need to learn on how to depend on myself. You're the one who taught me that." Weiss smiled.

"Are you sure about this Weiss? You don't understand that when you get caught, you'll end up in jail and when our enemies find out your identity, who know what they'll do. . ." Winter asked worriedly, despite her posture not showing it. Qrow approached his partner and placed his hand on her shoulder for support.

Weiss nodded, "You have my word sister. I promise you that I'll stay safe. And if it helps, I'll make sure to ask for training." she reassured to her worried sister, which did the trick. Winter uncharacteristically hugged her. Weiss was surprised at first but returned the hug as well, "I really missed you, Winter. . ." Weiss hugged her even tighter.

Winter sighed, "It's really been a long time Weiss. I'm sorry I haven't contacted you for a while. Work has been hectic back in Atlas. I hope you understand." Winter explained as she straightened herself, releasing Weiss from the hug.

"I understand. Don't worry." Weiss waved off her sister, not wanting to make her think she's offended or sad.

"Sorry to cut this short, sister. I'll need to talk to Raven about something regarding the Red Rose Thief escapades. We'll talk once it's all done, alright?" Winter asked and got a nod from the younger Schnee, "Wonderful. I shall see you back in your manor." She bid goodbye with a smile before leaving the two alone.

"Alright, c'mon, let me take you back to your place so you can plan your mission." Qrow suddenly said, as he lazily reached to the other door to guide Weiss out of the mansion and back to the city. As they made their way out into the small slice of paradise and back to the dilapidated train station, Weiss followed the man closely without making any fuss unlike when she was with Raven. As they were nearing the edge of the faunus houses, Qrow suddenly turned to her, almost bumping into her before she managed to stop herself. The shadow casted by the setting sun over the lean body of the man covered Weiss, making Qrow's red eyes seem to glow, "Y'know, I think I might actually like you. For being there for Ruby. So let me let you in a little secret, but you should tread carefully if you're going to keep working with us." Qrow's voice became gravely, the warning he said made Weiss listen to him completely, "This isn't just about taking down the SDC. You were on the right track, the whole Red Rose Thief is to reveal the truth of what happened to Summer Rose. Raven doesn't fully trust you and your sister doesn't want you to know the whole reason why she's even a part of this." he confided.

". . . But why are you telling me this?" Weiss pleaded for an answer, her head hurting from the overload of information she was given within the day. And the day was still far from over.

"Because Ruby trusts you. And that's the only thing that keeps me from going."

* * *

Qrow's words stuck to Weiss, Ruby trusts her, but what did that mean? First, her sister is involved with the Branwen's plans of fighting against the SDC. Was there something even more deeper than what they all said to her? Now that she had a few minutes to think, Ruby told her that Summer was hired to investigate the Red Rose Thief crimes and after she died, Raven, Qrow and her own sister become thieves to take down SDC. It didn't make any sense, unless if she was thinking correctly, Schnee Dust Company had something to do with Summer Rose's death. '_**Could it be because while investigating, she stumbled across something so terrible, she had to be silenced?**__' _Weiss tried piecing the puzzle, but came up nothing but a theory. She could continue doing it but then, morning will come up soon and she still has to do one more thing before tucking in for the night. Deciding that it would be best to enter from the same rooftop where she got shot, she carefully climbed up the rusty ladder Sun must've used to get to them last night. It was a windy night, her wig waving in rhythm with the chilly breeze, her hand holding on to the tip of her hat to keep it from blowing away as the tails of her coat flap gently. This time, she doesn't have any help from Blake or her team. She's all alone and it's risky. That's why she decided not to ask Junior as herself, she could use her alter ego to intimidate the man, or at least try to.

Perched up on the ledge near Junior's window, Weiss could practically hear the man talking on his phone. Probably complaining about the heist and about his men. Weiss also remembered that she has to thank Qrow for making sure the investigation ends tonight so Weiss could do her work easier. Taking a deep breath, she carefully took a peek down from the window to see if Junior would see her. She found the man staring at the fixed window in his office, looking over to the busy dance floor below, impressive that despite the chaos the night before, it looked as if it was just a normal day for the bar. Convinced that she won't get caught, Weiss climbed down from the ledge and landing on the railing, careful not to slip and fall. Lucky that her heels didn't make any sounds on the metal, Weiss unsheathed her blade and pointed it towards Junior's back, "Good evening, Mr. Xiong, please don't make any sudden movements as there's a blade currently pointed at you." Weiss warned, expecting him to suddenly lash out again.

Junior just calmly turned around with his arms raised, any hint of anger or aggression from his face. But rather, it was filled with sadness. This almost made Weiss drop her guard. His hand still holding on the closed flip phone, "You caught me on a bad time, y'know. So, what else can I do for ya, I thought you had everything you came here for?"

Seeing that Junior was going to be cooperative, Weiss eased up on her intimidation and lowered her rapier a little bit, "You're right, but I'm simply here for a few questions. I'm sure you've heard of the man named Roman Torchwick?"

"Are you kidding me? Which business owner wouldn't know anything about that guy, especially ones that has ties with illegal things." Junior scoffed, walking over to his desk to take a seat as Weiss carefully observed him to see if he'll do something. Junior picked up a glass of whiskey and drank it all before pouring himself a fresh one and offered it to Weiss. Weiss politely shook her head.

"That's why I'm here; tell me what **you** know about him. I've seen the file, you've been in contact with him. For what, is what I'd like to know." Weiss stressed as she persuaded Junior into talking. To which, he didn't made it hard for Weiss to do.

"I'm more than willing to tell ya anything I know, seeing as I'll be out of business soon no thanks to you. Maybe through this, I can take down that bastard with me and get rid of his 'empire'." Junior grumbled, taking the glass he filled for Weiss and drank it, "Y'know, ever since I was released from prison, I really tried going straight, no more illegal stuff for me. Sergeant Xiao Long checks up on me regularly to make sure of it, even though she causes troubles a couple of times, I'm really glad." Junior recollected, staring at his empty glass of whiskey, "But I haven't been able to go completely clean because of my connection with Torchwick. At least he let me keep my business. But after the whole attack was known, he decided to pull the plug and after tonight, he'll take over and kick me and the twins out. I treated those two as my daughters and they live with me, trying to make a living by working in the bar."

"Why were you forced to keep doing his dirty work if you wanted to be a legitimate business owner?" Weiss blurted out the question in her head, before putting two in two together, as she hesitated to answer her own question, "He'll do something about you and the twins. . ."

"The man has plenty of information that he can use against anyone who decides to mess with him, that includes me since the twins aren't legally mine, but I swear that all I want is to take care of them as my own. Ever since the news that you'd attack, I made sure that the girls would be far away from trouble." the frantic man explained, downing glass after glass of whiskey, "He'd hire men from me since they were expendable, a nobody so the police wouldn't question anything. He made me sign the file as if they were from the SDC, but it was just a scam."

"Wait so, the SDC isn't involved with Roman Torchwick?" Weiss pleaded for an answer but Junior shook his head.

"Not really sure, all I know the papers were marked with SDC, all the men he hired thought they were going to a much better place." after that, Weiss thoughts were only filled with '_**Why?**__' _as it didn't make any sense for Torchwick to trick thugs by handing them SDC hiring papers? What would he gain from it? And was her father truly innocent? Her heart felt faltering but the truth would always reveal itself. That's when Weiss decided that she had enough information and tipped her hat to the man.

"Thanks for everything, Junior. I'm sorry that it has come to this but one thing I can assure you is that, justice will be served." Weiss promised, walking back out of the fire exit and stood on top of the railing, pulling out her grappling hook immediately. Before she could fire it, she sensed Junior rushing to her.

"Wait, there's something else!" Weiss listened closely, as several black cars drove pass the bar.

* * *

Despite being the main producer and distributor of dust, the Schnee Dust Company wasn't the only one who sold them around the city. Several aspiring business men tried their hand with Dust Technology, most of them being successful. One such little shop can be found deep in Beacon's downtown area, providing the basic forms of dust for everyday use as well as one of the only shops selling it on a fair price. The old man running the shop was very well respected by his customers. He makes his round around his shop, preparing to close for the night, waiting for the young woman to finish up with her shopping at the very back, listening to music with her headphones. She was a frequent customer after all, always needing fire dust crystals for some reason, so she lets her take her time. Suddenly, three black cars stopped in front of his shop, scaring the passersby away. A group of thugs, wearing black suits and red ties walked out of the doors, each carrying a gun and a machete, intimidating anyone who would try to stop them. They observed the streets, gazing carefully with their eyes. Once they were sure no one else was around, they gave each other a nod and knocked on of the car windows. After a brief pause, the door opened, revealing a young looking man, wearing a clean white jacket, and dress pants. His neat leather shoes shining under the moonlight as he stepped out of the car. His ginger hair styled to cover his right eye, wearing a mascara on his left eye. He hooked his grey steel cane on his arm, adjust his grey ascot and tipping his black bowler hat. He took a deep breath, smiling brightly as he walked inside the shop.

"Why hello again, Mr. Keepe! I'm sure you know what I'm here for, right?" The man greeted to the shop owner, who immediately shook his head and showing his empty cash register. The man smirked before shaking his head, "Now this won't really do. . . Y'know the rules, if you can't make payment then compensation must be made for our services. Unless of course, you can't think of any other way other than to sell us your shop?" The man smirked, threatening the poor shop owner into submission, he can't afford to pay the steep price for the security they provide, especially after several robbers attacked his shop one night. He resigned to his faith, and offered his wares as payment instead. Because of the deal he made, there's no way he could back out or else, he'll lose his business The man pulled out a cigar and lit it, gesturing for his thugs to come in with several briefcases. The thugs opened their cases and waited for their boss' instructions, "Just grab the dust." and smoked his cigar, blowing the smoke towards the old shop owner.

The smart dressed thugs rushed to take as many dust as they can, filling their canisters full to the brim. Opening the glass cases and stuffing their briefcases with all kinds of dust crystals, leaving the shop almost barren. One lone thug walked towards the back and saw a young woman bobbing her head in tune with what music she's listening to, looking at each selection of fire dust crystals. The thug took out his machete and walked over to the woman, "Alright girlie, put your hands where I can see them!" he ordered, pointing his machete at her direction. The woman didn't react in anyway, whispering a few of the lyrics from her song. The thug groaned in frustration and stomped towards her. He tapped the woman on the shoulder, her baggy red hoodie hiding the wires of her headphones. The woman turned around, silver eyes looking confused as she removed her headphones. He orders her again, "I said, put your hands in the air, now!"

The woman tilted her head, her red streaked hair covering one of her eyes, "Are you. . . Robbing me?" she asked, looking confused.

No idea on what to say, and technically, they are robbing the place, so he might as well take advantage and get some extra cash from the defenseless woman and answered "Yes."

"Ohh." was her reply, her mouth forming into a smile. He raises his machete to her neck, ready for her to surrender. Ruby quickly swatted his arm away, making sure to break his wrist, dropping his weapon. Before he could shout in pain, Ruby jab her palm to his throat, preventing him from yelling and sweeping the man's legs with her own, knocking him down on the ground, unconscious. Ruby calmly picked up the discarded weapon and moved it away from the body, sliding it underneath the shelves. Ruby pulled out her gun from her hoodie, a holster hidden right underneath the baggy clothing. She checked if she had enough bullets and another thug comes around the corner and sees her. The thug looked between Ruby and his unconscious friend and alerts the others.

Ruby ducks once more, rushing towards the poor man, punched him right in the gut as he kneels over from the sudden lack of air. Ruby took her heavy gun and slammed the butt of the silver weapon, knocking another guy unconscious. The orange haired man hears the warning and runs out of the shop and hides in the car, afraid that someone has seen his attack. He made sure that only those who submit to his demands can know about his crimes, as he was a beloved man by other people. Climbing onto the driver's seat, he sped away from the scene of the crime, his car flying in the air from the speed of his driving.

The rest of the thugs converge on Ruby's location, bringing out their weapons, ready to attack. They were surprised when a young woman with a red hoodie and jeans jumped up in the air and drop kicked one of them out of the window, before firing a warning shot in the air, "Put your hands in the air and surrender, in a matter of minutes, cops will be here. Make your move pals." Ruby shouted, glancing her look over to the scared shop owner, giving him a small nod. The man rushed to try and take away the thugs' weapons.

One of the thugs resisted and took the man hostage, holding the blade against his throat, "No way, either you drop your weapon or this old geezer gets it!" The thug threatened, smirking assured that his victory was won. Ruby kept her gun trained on him, her eyes not blinking. The thug felt a sudden chill run up his spine. But before he could say anything else, Ruby pulled the trigger, aiming for the edge of the man's thigh, grazing him as he drops his hold on his hostage and reels in the ground in pain.

"If any of you have any more funny ideas, please be my guest." Ruby warned, her eyes shining like the silver gun in her hands, promising hurt and pain to the thugs. The men surrendered and lay face down, hands behind their head. Ruby helped the shop owner tie the thugs up to make sure they won't escape, as well as phoning for an ambulance as well. Ruby holstered her gun and calmed down the shop owner, not noticing the pair of shocked blue eyes who watched everything that happened from across the street, standing over the ledge. She was glad that Ruby was fine and that she didn't need to step in and put her identity at risk, but it gave her a scare to see how Ruby would act on taking down criminals. She learned with her after all, but being Ruby's most hated criminal in the world, it would probably even more worse if she had to fight Ruby one on one. Weiss fled the scene as fast as she can, jumping from one roof to the other and took off into the night.

* * *

Ruby sat down in the interrogation room, sighing sadly as she would be in trouble once again. As much as she can say that she ended up taking down robbers, she was still a student studying to be a detective, therefore, it was technically illegal. As well as dangerous. '_**Oh man, Yang's gonna kill me for this. . .**_' She thought, shuffling in her seat as her teacher, Ms. Goodwitch walked in and slammed a folder on the table, scaring her.

"I hope you realize your actions tonight will not be taken lightly, young lady." Goodwitch scolded her, pacing behind her chair, "You put yourself and others in grave danger."

"They started it!" Ruby defended, raising her voice, Glynda raising her eyebrow at her. Ruby gulped and lowered her face, realizing her mistake.

"If it were up to me, I'd have you sent home with a pat on the back," she paused, raising Ruby's expectations, before slamming another folder on the table, making Ruby jump away on her seat, "and have you expelled for breaking the laws you're learning at the academy." when Ruby heard those words, her heart sank, feeling the weight of the situation she put herself into, and realizing that she may never reach her dream and bring the Red Rose Thief to justice. But Glynda sighed, continuing what she going to say, "But, there's someone here who would like to meet you." she finished and walked to open the door, revealing Ruby's mysterious guest.

Standing at the door way, a middle-aged man with a messy silver hair, walked in with a sense of warm comfort. His brown eyes looks at Ruby warmly, giving her a small smile, his black suit, clean and straight, covering his green vest and shirt. An assortment of medals decorated on his left breast-pocket as he placed leaned his cane on the table and offered Ruby a plate of cookies, "Ruby Rose. My name is Captain Ozpin and would you like a cookie?"

* * *

**I think I may have gone a little loosey-goosey on this chapter but I think I still managed to show the important deets here. But I would love to hear your reviews and suggestions so I can do better on the future chapters. Anyways, hope you enjoy! Queen Fayne out!**


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